


Moon Stroke in Xadia

by Minaim



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:28:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 51,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25809634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minaim/pseuds/Minaim
Summary: After the safe return of the Dragon Prince Rayla and Callum go on a ‘vacation’ to visit the lands of humans and elves. But as peaceful as times may seem many dangers are to be found. Can their bond overcome the obstacles or are they simply never meant to be?
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23





	1. The First Mistake of Many

Forward for the Caring

When and where this fanfiction takes place is largely unimportant as the purpose of this work is merely to have Callum and Rayla interact as a couple while facing troubles in Xadia from both Elves and Humans. Zym is not present and I’ve changed the ages of Callum and Rayla to be slightly older; they’re around eighteen or so. One could say this takes place after the events of Season 3 or in an alternate universe. Human and Elf relationships are frowned upon in this setting compared to how they are in The Dragon Prince as hinted by the show. “Artemia” is my own name for the Moon-Shadow Elf Territory. Thank you for reading and enjoy.

* * *

“Callum, hurry up will you.” Rayla whined, “You’ve been getting ready for an hour, they’ll close up town before we can make it.” She sat on the root of a large tree and used one of her knives to carve into its trunk while Callum worked around the corner out of sight. The two of them had ventured through the wilderness of Xadia for some time together for a ‘vacation’ as they called it. Their journey had multiple reasons: the two of them wanted an opportunity to tell the people of the world that Zym, the prince of the dragons, had been returned to his mother and that a new era of peace was at hand for humans and elves alike. They found out very early on in their journey that they had no need to be messengers, as the news of the dragon prince spread to all corners of the elf and human lands as if by the wings of dragons. Callum also wanted an opportunity to venture through Xadia and learn about the six primal sources first hand, and Rayla wanted a chance to learn about human customs, since it seemed that humans and elves would be getting to know each other better in their newfound peace. They agreed to be each other’s guide, Rayla to Callum in the land of elves, and Callum to Rayla in the land of humans. Secretly between them, they both wanted an excuse to spend some time together with just the two of them in their newfound relationship.

Their journey had brought them far from the nest of the dragon queen to Artemia, the land of the Moon-Shadow elves, where Callum hoped to learn about the moon arcanum and Rayla hoped to reconnect with her home as best she could. They chanced upon a small Moon-Shadow Elf village in their journey and knew they risked a chance of Callum being discovered as a human if the two of them went in. They were both exhausted of the wilderness and decided to take the risk, as they hoped to get some finer comforts that were unavailable to them over the past few weeks. They agreed that he would have to disguise himself if they were going into the village, but the two of them had very different opinions on what was considered ‘good enough’ for a disguise. Callum called back to her behind the tree, “Hey I’ve only been at this for like twenty minutes at most, and I want it to be convincing this time. Do you want a repeat of Caldera?”

“We’re not going to have a repeat of Caldera.” She retorted annoyed, “I’m clearly Elven, just stick close to me and don’t draw attention to yourself.”

“Yeah but it’s pretty hard not to draw attention to yourself when everyone else has horns and only four fingers.” Callum showed his hand from around the tree to Rayla and wiggled his five fingers to her.

“So wear the cloak and gloves you have and stay quiet.” Rayla shooed him and then crossed her arms as she sat on the root, “Honestly it’s a lot easier than you’re making it out to be.”

“I know it’ll be easy.” He said reassuringly as he worked, “We’ve done this before. But those other times have taught me that all it takes is for someone to notice something off about us at a glance before they do or say something. So I’m just trying to make it take a little more than _just_ a glance to notice something’s wrong. We’re in Moon-Shadow Elf territory-”

“Artemia.” Rayla said irritated with her arms still crossed. She lost count how many times she had corrected him on it.

“Yeah, Are-Tre-Maya.” He butchered, “So I think we better bring our ‘A’ game.” There was another pause as he worked, then he continued, “I mean, we’re dealing with elves who do nothing but sneak and lie. So you tell me, how careful should we be?”

“Sneak and lie!?” Rayla jumped off her root and yelled to him in shock, “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Uh…” He moaned back to her and tried to find his words but Rayla found hers first,

“No, please. Don’t bother.” She began mockingly and crossed her arms leaning on the tree, “I know exactly what you mean.” She pouted before she continued, “‘Oh no! We’re in mean-moon-assassin-land now!’” She said exaggerated and placed her hands to the side of her face, “‘And me poor little lass still thinks they’re not blood thirsty killers!’” Her exaggerated tone subsided and she sat back on her root as she continued a bit hurt, “Not everyone here was raised an assassin like me. And we’re certainly not killers and liars!” She shouted to him then continued softer as she stared at the root, “Honestly I thought you knew better by now.”

Rayla couldn’t see Callum, but she knew he must have been fidgeting as he said nervously, “Yeah I-I know. I know you’re not sneaking monsters. That was a bad choice of words on my part…” There was a brief silence as Callum collected his thoughts, and then said, “It’s that-well all the magic I’ve seen in the moon arcanum is really focused on making illusions and how we perceive the world around us. So I thought just maybe Moon-Shadow elves would be a bit harder to fool than others…Sorry.”

Callum ended his apology quietly and Rayla could sense the regret in his voice, but even though she knew he did not mean to insult her she still felt hurt. She started playing with her knife and said slightly miffed, “Yeah well…maybe word your thoughts a bit better next time.”

There was silence between the two after she finished, which Rayla didn’t like as it reminded her too much of their fights. It was rare that the two of them fought over anything, and when they did she thought it was always about the dumbest of things: What direction should they go in and who got them lost? Who’s being risky, or stubborn, or just dumb? Who should be up front and who should support in a fight? Should they or should they not be open to people about their relationship? After their fights they always separated themselves from each other to sit in silence when it was over. She always felt horrible when they did this, even while she was brooding. She always wanted to go back over to him to hug and make up, but her pride usually wouldn’t let her. She assumed Callum’s pride wouldn’t let him either or if it wasn’t pride, which she wasn’t sure how much he had, she thought it was hesitation he had on approaching her. When she thought about how he responded to her and how quiet he was she was worried that he hesitated now in speaking to her. She started fidgeting as she thought about whether she shouldn’t have spoken so coldly to him, or if she should speak up and tell him everything was fine between the two of them, or if she should just wait it out so he could finish his disguise finally and then he would see that she didn’t have a problem with him at all. As she thought about this she realized she was now the one hesitating, which Runaan would have hit her for if she was training with him. “Never hesitate. Hesitation is death.” He would say to her, and while she didn’t think her hesitation now would led to her or Callum’s death, she still found herself anxious about the two of them. In the middle of her thoughts she heard the soft sound of wood whittling, so he was merely focused and not upset. Relieved, she said playfully to him “I hear you, don’t you go dulling out my knife for your silly costume.”

“Hey I heard you scrapping on the tree trunk the whole time I worked, so don’t accuse me of anything. Plus you could probably cut through stone with these things. What are you working on over there anyway?”

“Uh…” Rayla said as she looked down on the root where she carved out a heart surrounding hers and Callum’s initials. “It’s a surprise for you after you show me your disguise.”

“Okay. I shouldn’t be much longer anyhow.” He said absent mindedly to her.

She stabbed her knife violently into the trunk and looked down at her carving. She hadn’t thought about what she was doing initially and only noticed that she was making what looked like a heart halfway through. She normally wasn’t one for ‘mushy couple stuff’ as she would have called this, but when she saw the opportunity she didn’t shy from it. She wrote her own initial in the decorative Elvish script that Ethari had taught her when she was little. She was going to write Callum’s in similar fashion, but remembered him teaching her the basics of the human script. She decided that for what they were to each other it would be more appropriate for her to write his in the human script. When she looked down onto it now, and even while she was writing it, she thought Callum’s initial didn’t match him at all. She thought the human script for ‘C’ was too simple and didn’t illustrate how smart and capable she knew he was. Compared to her own initial which she thought was far too decorative and elaborate for her and didn’t speak to who she was as a person. Not that she didn’t think she was capable, she knew very well that she was. But she felt that the ornateness of the script betrayed her as someone who was more creative and smarter than she really was. To this end she thought that the script used for hers and Callum’s initial should have been switched, but she was fine with waiting for another opportunity, rather than correcting it now. She was interrupted from this thought by Callum who said excitedly,

“Alright I think I’m ready. Get ready to meet elf Callum!”

“It’s about time. Why’d you hide yourself from me anyway?”

“Well I wanted it to be a surprise. How often do I get to be the one who wows you?” He said as he stepped around the tree and Rayla almost gasped when she saw him. He had gathered supplies on their trip through Xadia to assist in making a more believable disguise when the opportunity arose and was secretly hoping to impress her. This was why he didn’t let her see him until his disguise was finished, as he thought that when she saw it done it would be more impressive. He had managed to make markings around his eyes that looked similar to hers, he also applied a blush to his face that gave his skin a tone similar to Moon-Shadow elves, and hidden under his hair where two wooden horns wrapped to his head by a string. He went up to Rayla and grabbed her hands before he said giddy, “I used those blue-berries we found the other day for my tattoos, and the mist-flower’s pollen for my skin, and my horns are just wood attached to a leather band under my hair. What do you think pretty good huh?” Callum said in a rush and he raised her hands in excitement, which Rayla saw beam in his eyes as she looked at him. She didn’t think she could have told him his disguise was bad if it was.

“It looks really good Callum.” She said unsure of what else to say. It was definitely another leg up from just a pair of gloves and a hood, but there were plenty of signs that gave it away as a costume. As she looked over his disguise a wicked idea came over her and she smiled wryly. “But it’s not perfect. Moon-Shadow hair ranges from snow white to grey silver and very rarely black, but never brown.” She pointed to his hair as she said this and Callum closed his eyes while rubbing the back of his head and smiled. She grabbed onto his face which caused him to open his eyes, “You did a good job getting the skin tone right. It helps that the mist-flowers are used for blush but it’s not coming off unless you scrub very hard, and it’ll itch like you wouldn’t believe.” At her comment he already felt his face grow itchy, but he wasn’t sure if it was the pollen or in his mind. She continued and went over his markings meticulously,, “And the markings on our faces are largely symbolic. It’s not crazy to think we might have the same but that might put up a few friendly questions for whoever meets us.” She brought her own face close to his before she continued and said, “And I’ve never seen another Moon-Shadow elf with green eyes like yours.” Callum blushed as their eyes meet.

“Well I guess I’ll just have to wear my hood and gloves like you said.” He said dreamily as he brought his left hand to her face and stared back into hers.

“Yeah. And about that.” Rayla said hesitantly before she grabbed Callum’s left hand. She then twisted around and brought him to his knees as she pinned his hand to the root on top of her carving. “Your extra fingers are the biggest problem with your disguise. So they’re going to have to go.”

She said this as she brandished her knife in her hand. She remembered when she was younger that one of the other assassins did what they called ‘four finger fillet’ on her as a hazing ritual and hoped to do something similar to Callum as a joke. He even had spread his fingers over the root to make it easy on her. She tried it once or twice on herself before but she had cut her fingers by accident, so she went slowly on him to be sure she wouldn’t hurt him.

“Let’s see…” She said curiously as she started to stab the knife between his fingers. She was going slowly as a precaution but still wanted to worry him a bit. So she was forceful in her strikes to keep up the illusion.

“Uh…Rayla?” Callum said as he tried to reach for her with his free hand. After he did Rayla lifted up her leg and pinned his free arm to his side.

She stopped stabbing in between his fingers and tapped each of his deliberately with the flat of her knife as she said, “Your pink-o’s the most obvious choice, but that’s just going to leave you with an extra bit of flesh on the side of your hand, so that’s not going to look convincing. Your index can’t go for the same reason. And you’re going to need your ring finger eventually.” She paused for a moment without realizing what she said and turned to Callum on the ground as she smiled wryly to him again, “You just won’t be able to be rude to your other human friends anymore. But hey, that’s the price we pay for a convincing disguise for you.”

Callum tried to smile back up to Rayla, but he was nervous as he spoke, “You’re not really going to cut off one of my fingers…Are you?”

Rayla looked at him dead in the eye and said, “Try me.” She then threw her knife in between the gaps of his fingers which caused him to scream, “Rayla! My hand!”

“Lighten up will you? I was just joke-” She began to say when she looked down and saw human blood pool at Callum’s hand and her knife cut through his middle finger. In a panic she shouted his name as she let go of him and pulled the knife out of his finger. “Callum? Are you alright? I was just-” She began to say as she grabbed his hand but Callum only pulled it away and hugged it to his chest as he swore under his breath. She tried again to speak to him and stuttered as she said concerned, “You’re alright aren’t you?”

He yelled at her, “No, I’m not alright! You fucking cut me!” He looked at her with anger and tears in his eyes from the pain. Then he looked down and cradled his hand in pain. She was dazed by what just occurred and unsure of what to do. She had seen Callum angry before but never like this, and she still processed what happened. She stepped back unconsciously from him and looked down at her hands and saw his blood on them as she thought to herself,

“I cut off his finger… I cut off his finger!” She must have said this out loud, or Callum knew what she was thinking because he said,

“You didn’t cut off my finger! It’s just cut really bad and you maybe hit the bone. I don’t know.” He swore to himself again, “Just get me something.”

Rayla snapped out of her shock and immediately went to their supplies and began rummaging for the bandages they kept, but in her stress she forgot where they put them. “Bandages, bandages, bandages…Ah! Where’d we put them?” She said to herself as she made a mess of their supplies.

“They’re in my bag with my sketch book.” Callum called out to her, “They should be right next to it.” He swore yet again as he hugged his hand.

Rayla went to his bag and dumped out everything and picked up the bandages that fell out and ran over to Callum. She knelt down with him and pulled his hand away and started to wrap the bandages around his entire hand.

“Callum? Callum I’m so sorry.” She said to him quickly, trying not to cry, “I was just trying to play a joke and impress you with that dumb game the assassins taught me when I was little. I didn’t mean to cut you, you know I’d never hurt you, please I’m sorry.” When she finished he spoke tensely in a manner that suggested he tried to subdue his emotions,

“It’s fine Rayla.”

“No it’s not! I almost cut your finger off!” She said as she grabbed onto his hand and pulled it tightly towards her.

“Well could you maybe just bandage my finger and not my whole hand!?” He said in anger from the pain she caused by grabbing his hand tightly. She was shocked again by his outburst and paused for a moment to look at him. After he saw her reaction he winced slightly and relaxed his grimace. The two of them looked down and saw his left hand completely wrapped in bandages. “I mean no one will notice I have five fingers now but…” He tried to make a joke but it didn’t lift Rayla’s mood. Still tense she unwrapped the bandages from his hand and looked at his middle finger. She couldn’t tell if she cut to his bone like he said as there was dried blood all over it and the wound was still bleeding.

“We have to wash this.” She said with little emotion as she collected herself and ran off to their supplies. Callum protested and said they didn’t have anything to wash it with when she took out a water sack they had for drinking water and brought it over. “Rayla we need that.” He said, knowing they were running low on water.

“We’re right by a town, we can get more.” She said angry, and tried to hide her concern. She poured the water over his cut and wiped it with the bandages harshly which earned a slight wince from Callum as he asked her to be careful. She told him to not a be a baby as she continued to wipe it a bit less strongly. When she was done with the water sack she threw it away and examined his finger. It still bleed so she wrapped the bandages around his finger tightly and tied it off. Even once she was finished Rayla couldn’t stop looking at his hand and would not look at him. After a moment he asked if she was okay and she lifted up her head and said in a hoarse voice,

“Am I okay? Callum I-I’m sorry…” She brought her hand to her hair and began fidgeting with it as she talked, “I wasn’t thinking - and I’m so stupid! I don’t know how I can ever make it up to-” She wiped away the few tears she couldn’t stop herself from shedding as she spoke but was interrupted before she could finish by a kiss from Callum. They closed their eyes and kissed each other for a moment until he pulled away from her and shared hug. She asked almost crying, “You’re not mad?”

Callum breathed in sharply before he said, “I’m fine.” He paused for a moment and said, “But that was dumb. That was really dumb.”

She began to cry again and said uncontrollably, “I know, I know. That was dumb and stupid and I don’t know what I was thinking.”

He shushed her and said gently, “I’ll be fine.” They were silent for a moment as they hugged, and Rayla choked back tears as she did. He continued, “It could always be worse, you could have got me in the heart. Even though you kind of already did.” Callum said in an attempt to be charming.

She almost cried out as she said, “Don’t even think about that! It’s bad enough that I hurt you, but I don’t even want to think about…” She couldn’t finish, and placed a hand over her mouth. A vison of her throwing her knife into his heart flashed through her mind that she couldn’t stop from thinking of.

Callum felt her horror and hugged her tighter as he tried to calm her, “Hey don’t worry. I’m fine, I’m fine. Really.” Then they were silent again and rocked back and forth as they hugged. After a moment Callum said, “I like your carving by the way.”

“Oh my gosh, that.” Rayla said, some tension left her voice and was replaced by embarrassment.

“What? I thought it was cute.” He said jokingly.

“It’s stupid. I don’t even know why I made it. And now your blood’s all over it.”

“Well at least the heart part is more accurate now.” Callum statement earned a slight groan from Rayla, and he took some comfort that she returned a little bit to normal. After another moment he continued with a little hesitation and asked, “Do you really think I think of you as, ‘my little lass?’” He felt the need to ask her as he could never think of her as anything close to a ‘little lass.’ She was a strong, capable, and dependable warrior. Above all else, she was brave and kind. He felt that if either of them had to be called a ‘little lass’ or little anything, it should be him.

“I mean…” He felt her take one of her arms off of him as she fixed her hair before she continued, “We’ve kind of been together for a while now, so… I’d hope so.”

He paused for a moment before he said, still unsure of himself, “Do you…want me to call you ‘my little lass?’”

She exhaled her breathe sharply in a small laugh as she said, “I mean if you did, I wouldn’t _mind_.” Callum thought he could be very dense when it came to social ques, but even he couldn’t miss that. She wanted him to try a pet name for her, he wasn’t sure if he liked it yet but he wouldn’t definitely try it. At least when the best moment for it to be used arrived. There was another brief pause before he changed the subject and said gently,

“We should probably hurry up and head into town before everyone turns in for the night.”

Rayla pulled herself away to look at him and said concerned, “I’ll go into town myself, you should just stay here and rest.”

“But I worked so hard on my disguise, I don’t want to let it go to waste.”

“Your disguise isn’t so good with your blood all over it.” Rayla said as she and Callum looked down to where he hugged his hand to his body. It had a patch of dried blood on his clothes. “That’s going to make too many questions if somebody sees that.”

He got up and went towards their supplies, “I’ll change into another shirt then, and you should probably clean my blood off yourself too.”

She looked down at herself as she knelt on the ground and saw she still had his dried blood on her hands and a small amount on her clothes. She disconcertingly wiped her hands over the grass and tried to remove it. Then she saw the water sack she threw away some feet from her. She grabbed it and squeezed it over her chest to try and get the last remaining drops of water out to clean her shirt.

Callum saw her do this frantically as he went through their ruined camp for his clothes. Then he asked unsurely, “Don’t you have another shirt somewhere?” He remembered seeing her wear another shirt once or twice during their vacation, but she didn’t bring as many sets of clothes as he did. More often she would only wear her assassin armor and it would stink of her body odor if she didn’t bathe too often. But that did not always bother him, more often he would enjoy her scent for reasons that he was still unsure of. She said frantically to him as she tried to wipe herself clean,

“Not of my armor, and there’s no way I’m changing out of this.” She threw the water sack away towards him and said unsatisfied, “I’ll just have to wear something over it.” As she got up she tapped her head in realization, “I’ll wear my cloak too. That’ll probably be better since we’ll match. Callum where are you going?” She asked concerned as she saw him with a new shirt and his cloak in hand as he started to leave the campsite.

“I’m just going to change into a new shirt. I shouldn’t be more than a second, then we can go.”

As he went out of sight Rayla went over to their supplies to grab her cloak. She groaned slightly as she saw the state she put their camp into with all their stuff strewn out over the place. She decided that the mess could wait until they got back to clean up and sorted through it to find her cloak and what little money they had left. They only had seven coins and she was worried their expenses would be too strained. They didn’t start out with much money when their journey began, as they thought they wouldn’t run into too many opportunities to use it. They originally had thirty pieces, but after paying a familiar friend for passage over the Midnight Desert to Artemia and a few other mishaps they were down to their current sum. She hoped it would be enough to buy medicine, but it might not be enough for some food. At the very least she could forage for food or they would be go hungry for a little while. She put her concerns aside for the moment and found her cloak. Then she draped it over her shoulders and fastened it to cover the upper part of her chest and pulled her hood over her head. Since Callum would have to wear his hood over his head the whole time she thought it would be best if they matched as closely as possible. When she was done she heard him say behind her that he was ready and asked if she was ready as well. She turned around and saw him in a new shirt with his cloak on, his wooden horns made points at the top of his hood, and his scarf was lose around his neck under it. She went up to him and fixed his scarf tightly around him as she said, “The only thing we’re going into town for is some medicine for your hand.”

Callum’s stomach growled, “How about some food too?” He said in response.

Rayla’s stomach growled as well, after which she said, “Yeah. Some real food would be nice.”

* * *

There was little daylight left as the sky turned to dim twilight when the two of them made it to the village. It was a relatively small settlement, but it had a few other buildings besides homes where the two of them hoped to find services of some kind. When they spotted it earlier Rayla had scoped it out from a distance but never entered it. She recognized the area as being nearby the main highway but knew the road leading from the village was out of the way to anyone traveling on it. While she had never been to this village before its distance from the border and small size gave it no reason to possess a concealing spell, so they would have no issue entering it. The two of them huddled together out of sight behind a tree up the road from the entrance as they spoke.

“How good of a look did you get when we passed by this place earlier?” Callum said to her as he hugged his hood to his face.

“Pretty good.” She said cheerily, “It’s small but not too far off the main road. I’m sure they must have a few shops or even an inn to get something.”

“Yeah but any guards or people we have to worry about?” He said in a hoarse whisper.

“It’s a village Callum.” She said plainly not bothering to whisper, “But yeah, they might have a night watch setup or maybe even some official guards. But nothing we need to worry about.”

“Nothing for you to worry about sure. But I’m in a no-go territory for humans.”

“Where’s that confidence from earlier?” She said playfully to him, “Isn’t that what the disguise’s for?”

“It is but I don’t want us thrown out, or worse.” He said still whispering between in his teeth.

“We’re not going to get thrown out. Just let me do the talking, and keep you head down. Now come on, I’m starving!” She said as she grabbed his left hand and started to run up the road towards the town. He called out her name and she felt some resistance from his hand. She remembered his injury and lightened up on it as she slowed down to jog. As they got closer to the town Callum could make out two individuals under a lamp by the side of a building. They sat down at a table where they focused intently on a game they were playing. He assumed it was some form of chess from the shape of the pieces, but he was unsure if elves shared the same rules as humans, or even if the game was similar. As they went up the road the person facing towards them got the attention of the other at the table, then he got up and grabbed a lantern as he went to the road to meet them.

“Woah!” He said warily as he shined the dim lamp towards the two of them. He said businesslike in a thick Moon-Shadow accent, “State your name and business.”

Rayla raised her hood so they could better see her face and said cheerfully as she went up to him, “My name’s Rayla, and me and my friend are just looking for a bite to eat.”

He moved the lamp towards the two of them and brought it closer to Callum. It was a foggy yellow, and seemed to be lite by a type of fire-fly as the light danced and faded in and out within it. Callum could see the man was young but older than him and Rayla by a number of years at least. His face was clean shaven, and he appeared physically fit and strong. He had a single marking of a vertical line that went from just above his brow down to his cheekbone over his right eye, and that was the only marking Callum could see of his. The man said somewhat suspiciously as he examined them, “Where are you and your friend from, Miss?”

“I’m from a small village by the Silvergrove.” She said as she relaxingly crossed her arms, “You’ve probably never heard of it. And he’s from up north.” She gestured to Callum, who waved meekly to him with a forced smile. He had on gloves to hide his fifth finger, but he was very conscious of the bandages on his finger that gave a very pronounced bulged to it.

“Does your friend have a name?” The man said without missing a beat.

“His name’s Callum.” She said, still cheery.

“Is he mute too?” He said somewhat annoyed.

“Hi, it’s me. I’m Callum.” He said quietly and waved his hand awkwardly to him.

Rayla leaned towards the man and whispered teasingly, “He’s a bit shy.”

“Aye.” The man said skeptically, “And just what are you two doing here?”

The man spoke in a confused tone, which puzzled Rayla. She replied growing confused as well, “Um…Looking for food. Didn’t I tell you that?”

“No, not that. I mean what brought you here, of all places?”

“O! We’re on vacation!” She said cheerfully.

“Vacation?” He repeated dubiously as he turned his head to the side at her.

“Yeah, a vacation!” Rayla smiled as she went back next to Callum and grabbed his hand. She continued, “We didn’t come looking for this town. The two of us just wanted to get out and see the world, and that brought us here!”

The guard stood and examined the two of them, and for a moment neither of them spoke. Finally he asked, “How long have you two been on this, ‘vacation?’”

Rayla turned to Callum and said more to herself than to him, “A while now. It feels like forever.”

Callum massaged the back of his neck with his free hand as he said, “It’s been a few weeks at least since the Storm Spi….ire.” He spoke without thinking initially and the name of the Dragon Queen’s domain slipped out. He was unsure what exact story Rayla wanted to give them, but he felt that place put a damper on whatever she was going for.

The guard’s skepticism returned tenfold as he asked, “You’ve been to the Storm Spire?”

“Oh yeah!” Rayla said quickly, trying to cover the mess Callum made, “That was the point, of course! Go out and see the world and all that, and now we’re here!” She ended with a small forced chuckle.

The man looked them over once again with renewed interest. He noted their weather stained cloaks, and that they carried almost nothing with them apart from a small bag and an empty water sack. He asked with some concern, “Do you have much money?”

Rayla admitted, “No, not really. We got enough for some food and the basics.” She added reassuringly in case the guard wouldn’t let them into town without some money. She continued bombastically, “But really we’ve just been roughing it. Get that real adventurous experience. Worked pretty good so far, mostly anyway.” She said the last part lowly to herself as she turned away and remembered the recent injury she gave Callum. He turned towards her and forced a small laugh and smile.

The man turned away from them awkwardly towards his counterpart who had sat quietly at their game the entire time. The other guard only shrugged. The one they had been dealing with turned back to them and said honestly, “Fair enough. We don’t get too many travelers aside from lost ones anyway.” He coughed slightly and continued, “Apart from our regular traders that is.” He turned away from them and pointed up the road as he said, “Most of the shops should be closed now but the inn’s open. Follow the main road straight ahead till you get to the center. You’ll see some stalls and the few shops we have there. And you can’t miss the inn to far from it. It’s the biggest building there, should see some lights and hear the noise of it.” He turned back to them, “I don’t think we’re lucky enough to get any music tonight, except maybe Jubal if she’s in the mood for it.” He looked them over once more before he thought something over and said, “If you’re just looking for a bite, speak to the inn keeper and tell them Farkas sent you. He owes me favor.”

Rayla dashed away and towed Callum along as she said cheerfully to them, “We will, thank you! And enjoy your game!” The two of them waved to the guards and they waved back as Farkas said,

“Enjoy your time in Loruthven!”

They made their way towards the center of town, and while Rayla focused on the path ahead Callum took the time to examine the village as they went through it. Multiple homes dotted the area. The buildings incorporated trees and mimicked nature where they could but many of them were no bigger than small hovels built into or around the trees. The trees there were far less dense than the forest that surrounded it, so he was able to see the sky in between the canopy as they marched through it. Besides the homes there were sparce boulders and small stone structures with runes carved into them along the path, but many of them looked to be forgotten to the wayside. He found the architecture and general feel of the town similar to Rayla’s home, but he thought Loruthven lacked much of the grandeur of the Silvergrove. Not to say he thought the town looked dull. While he thought that the town was rather quaint, Moon-Shadow towns were still very new to him, so any and all matters of it peaked his interest. The path they followed was dirt with a few stones lade into it and it was worn down from continuous use by the townsfolk. Besides the elves in the town, he saw small animals scuttling around in between the buildings. Some of them he recognized as ones Moon-Shadow elves kept as pets, and he likened them to cats or dogs, but their behaviors were only vaguely close to them, if at all. One of them was like a racoon with similar body size and appendages, but the face of it was cat like, and it possessed a deep azure coat. His past experience with them said they were playful animals, but very territorial and pack oriented. One of them swiped at a lantern to get the insects within it, and had to be shooed away by someone. The lanterns they passed were lite by glowing insects like the guard’s and hummed in a deep yellow. There were only a few lanterns in the town, and all the ones they passed by were hung from other people’s homes, so much of the path was becoming dim in the oncoming night.

He had been told by Rayla that Moon-Shadow elf communities were very closely knit. According to her if one member of the community was suffering hardships all of the others would pitch in to help them, and any refusal to do so would be greatly looked down upon. After they got out of sight of the guards Rayla pulled her hood back down to match Callum, so as to make him less conspicuous by comparison. The town was close to empty and they only saw a few people as they made their way. The ones they passed by looked at them in surprise and Callum felt some nervousness at their stares. Rayla handled every brief interaction they had with a wave, cheery demeanor, and occasional “hello” or other small remark. She always made a small tug at him whenever they passed by someone, which did not help the sharp pain in his finger, but he kept quiet about it. The townsfolk only paid them a brief glance at every interaction; no doubt they were only surprised when they saw a new face in town and carried on their way. Callum thought that either his disguise was working, or that everyone was too preoccupied with getting home for the night to notice them. He felt relatively secure, whatever the reason was, so he said to her in a low voice while he admired the town, “This is really nice. Are all Moon-Shadow towns like this?”

Rayla slowed down slightly and went next to him as she said, “For the most part, yeah. But this one’s really small. But I guess we are in the middle of nowhere, so it’s expected.”

“What are all these ruins from?” He said as he pointed to one of the stones.

She paused in their march as she took notice of one of them for the first time and said disinterested, “Oh, couldn’t tell you.” She continued to walk and tow him along as she said, “Good old Runaan never gave me much of an education aside from fighting. And Ethari probably told me about them at one point but it never really stuck. That’s more egghead stuff you’d be into.” She said teasingly to him and then playfully elbowed him in the side before she continued, “Good work mentioning the Storm Spire back there by the way.”

“Sorry.” He grunted as he massaged it, “Guess we’re not mentioning the Dragon Queen then?”

She looked around briefly before she said, “Preferably no. Let’s just be an innocent young couple out and about.” She hissed out her next words in a low tone, “I’m definitely not a wanted woman but I don’t think a ‘deserting assassin’ would be welcome here.”

“You really think someone would recognize you for that?”

She thought on his question before she replied thoughtfully, “Maybe, I don’t really know. The Silvergrove’s a big deal around here and word travels fast. There aren’t wanted posters of me or anything, but a young girl trained as an assassin? Only so many people could fit that.” They passed by another person just as she finished speaking, and was worried that they could have heard something. She ended abruptly when she saw them and made a forced smile as they exchanged glances. Her and Callum waved to them awkwardly but the individual paid them little attention and walked past them without trouble.

She let out a sigh of relief but had nothing else to say. Callum said quietly, “But didn’t we save the Dragon Prince? I know the whole warrior-assassin thing is important but doesn’t that count for anything?”

She thought over what he said for a moment before she said reluctantly, “Kind of, but it’s complicated. Even the Dragon Queen’s blessing only goes so far.”

“Yeah, I get that.” He said as he ruminated over his own interactions with the Dragon Queen before they left for their vacation. He agreed with Rayla but he still felt disappointed that no one here could know what she did for the world. He said dishearten, “So that’s it then? We’re just going to lay low?”

“Preferably, yes.” She said flatly before she turned to him and whispered jokingly, “We kind of need to with a human anyway.”

“Are we still going to the tavern then?” He asked curiously.

“Might as well if we can get a meal.” She said lightening up a bit before she turned to him, “Free food is free food. Just let me do the talking like how I did with that guard and we’ll be all set.”

“And was that offer a normal thing that guard did? Meaning for elves?”

“That ‘favor’ thing? Yeah I guess, compared to humans anyway.” Rayla said after she reflected on it briefly, “I think mostly it’s that he feels bad for us, since we’ve been on the road for a while. And he probably think we’re one of those lost travelers he mentioned.” She said the last part as a joke to him.

“Aren’t we though?” He said teasing her.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to see all Artemia had to offer?” She said returning his tone.

“Yes, but I think it would be good if we knew where we were going half the time.”

“Oh, but getting lost is half the fun when we don’t have anywhere to be.” She laughed lightly before she continued, “Plus I know most of the general lay of the land here, I’m never really lost.”

“Yeah.” Callum said flatly as a thought came to his mind. He didn’t want to discuss that again and possibly start another fight so he changed the subject, “How much money do we have anyway?”

“Enough, I think.” She said as she tried to be sure of herself and squeezed his hand tighter, “Somebody should have a salve or something at a stall somewhere and we can get water at the inn.” She turned to him before she continued, “How’s your finger?”

“It’s okay. You’re kind of squeezing it tight.” He squeaked out entreatingly.

At his comment Rayla let go of his hand suddenly and quietly apologized. She rubbed the back of her neck and after a moment crossed her arms and said, “Even if we can’t find anything I could always make something myself. I learned a thing or two from Runaan and Ethari. We’ll be fine.” She said the last statement more to herself than to him, and hes knew it. He rubbed his own neck before he said,

“You know, my other hand is fine.” He waved his right hand to her. “We can hold our other ones if you want.” She gladly agreed without saying a word and readjusted herself on the path as she grabbed his right with her left. Callum loved how their fingers seamlessly interlocked with each other’s whenever they held hands. He was unable to interlock with hers completely because of the gloves, but he still loved to hold hers regardless.

She pecked him on the cheek before she said coyly, “A little different, grabbing each other’s offhand. Isn’t it?”

He replied facetiously in an instant, “If by offhand you mean that almost came _off_ hand, then yeah. Different.”

She let out an annoyed sighed, then leaned her head on him and mumbled, “Don’t push your luck.” And he replied with a laugh.

They walked for a few more minutes until they came to the center of town. It was a small ruin and encircled around it were a few shops that all appeared to be closed for the day. Straight ahead underneath an archway of the ruin Callum saw the largest building of the entire town, presumably the tavern. Out from it shinned lights from lanterns and warm fires, and in the silence of the night the two of them could hear the bustle in it from where they stood if they tried to listen. Before they went to it they wanted to spy out the center more closely in case one of the shops was still open. He thought all the shops would have been rather lacking in the day time. Most of them were only small stalls which were big enough for only a few trays of whatever goods they could sell. He assumed they must have been for produce or an open air market. Besides the stalls he saw a sign for what he believed to be a butcher and a smith, but no sign for a doctor. Just as he was about to finish his search, Rayla called for his attention. She pointed to a woman who swept underneath a stall to the far side of the market. She suggested that they should go over and speak to her for information and then they approached her.

“Let me do the talking.” She said to him before they reached her, and Callum made no response of refusal. The woman’s stall was close up for the night as she swept, and the only thing out were empty shelves and a half full sack on the ground. They approached a small distance from her and only said something when the woman looked up and realized they were there. Rayla waved her free hand and said politely, “Hi. Sorry to bother you, but my friend and me were looking for something specific. Could you help us?”

The woman was old enough to be their grandmother but not ancient. She had similar markings to Rayla’s, was a little plump, and shined with a kind radiance as she spoke to them. “Of course. What do you two sweethearts need?”

Rayla let go of Callum’s hand and approached the woman as she rubbed the back of her neck again. She said embarrassed as she stumbled through her words, “I uh, accidentally…My friend got this really bad cut.” She settled on and continued, “I don’t know if you have something for it, or know someplace would go for it. Cause I’m worried it’s too bad to just leave as it is.”

“Well of course.” She said kindly, “I don’t have much for that myself but I could try to help. Could I see your friend’s cut?” She said as she looked past her towards Callum. Her and Callum’s eyes meet for a moment but he was unable to meet her gaze for long. He looked down and away from her as he clutched his left hand with his right.

“That’s…going to be kind of difficult.” Rayla dragged out.

“Oh, and why’s that?” The woman said curiously. She did not see anything wrong with the way Rayla spoke or Callum acted.

“Well uh, you see…” She stumbled out, as she tried to buy time to think of an excuse. The woman replied with affirmative as she did. Then an idea came to her and she leaned closer to the woman as she said, “The cut’s on his uh – _rear_.” She whispered the last word sharply to her for emphasis.

“Oh.” Was all the woman said as she processed what she heard. After a moment her eyes went wide in surprise and she responded with a deep, “ ** _Oh_**!” and continued concerned, “Well that will make things a bit harder. How did your friend get cut there?”

“It’s a long story. And kind of embarrassing.” Rayla said as she blushed slightly. She blushed at the concept of her lie, but she was thankful it made it more convincing.

“Oh yes. Of course, of course. No need to worry about it.” The woman said consolingly, “My dear husband got a similar injury after he fell on some tools doing house work. The poor man was sore sitting down for almost a month, even with the medicine the doctor gave him.”

“You have something then?” Rayla said hopefully, “We don’t have much money, but I could trade you something for it.”

The woman laughed softly, “Oh no. That well over a few years ago. But the same doctor’s still here.” She pointed past the center up another road and said, “Follow that path till you get out of town, and a short ways up you’ll see his home. A great big tower taking up a whole tree. You can’t miss it.” She focused back on her sweeping after she finished. Rayla went to grab Callum’s hand and say goodbye to her when she said, “How long will you two be in town for?”

They stopped in their tracks and Rayla turned around to say, “Not too long. We might go to the tavern after we see the doctor but we’re just passing through.”

“Well I was just thinking, you might have better luck finding him in there than his home.” She motioned to the tavern, “He’s usually out wandering about town this time of night. And before you go, you look like you could need some of this.” She bent down to her sack and pulled two fruits out of it. “These were left over from today and they’re too ripe to keep any longer, but I’m sure you could use them. No need to pay me.”

She went up to them and put one in each of their hands. Rayla was overjoyed at her generosity. She was worried that they wouldn’t be able to afford to feed themselves and take care of Callum’s injury. But by the generosity of the guard and the old woman she was sure they would be well taken care of tonight. She thanked her profusely and Callum shared another glance with the woman as he thanked her and walked away with Rayla. The woman waved them goodbye and after they were out of ear shot of her Callum leaned into Rayla and said jokingly, “My rear? Really?”

She laughed lightly at his comment and said, “I had to think of some reason why we couldn’t just show her your cut. Least now we have a story to tell the doctor.”

“Are we going to his house then?” He said as he took a bite of the fruit.

“Well she said we’d have better luck finding him at the inn, and we still have that favor to cash in. So let’s try our luck there first.” She said optimistically and tugged Callum along as they went around the ruin. He was glad he convinced her to hold his offhand, as he imagined he would have felt pain in it as he was tugged along. As they made their way around the ruin Callum took the opportunity to study it more closely. It was a series of menhirs and dolmen that encircled another ring of similar structure, and at its center was a slightly raised mound. Callum thought it appeared to have been a theater, or temple, or some other place of importance like the Moon Nexus, but it was discarded like the stones throughout the town. He admired the ruins as they walked around it and paused for a moment as he tried to find a symbol he recognized or another way to tell what purpose it held. Rayla tugged him along as he stopped and told him not to hold them up. He went along with her at her pushing and was unable to find anything, its significance lost to him. He accepted that it would only remain a curiosity for the brief time they were there and continued with her towards the inn.

The inn was no means big by his standards. It was about the size of a large house and the main hall of the winter lodge could have probably held the entire building. A large tree grew out of its center and vines overtook one outside portion. Its panels were silver-grey in color like the other buildings in the town, and part of the building seemed to lean to the side. They entered it and were greeted by dim lighting and the murmuring of different conversations throughout it. There was a large fire that roared in the back, and few lanterns hung from the ceiling which gave the inn a dim lighting throughout it. It was relatively packed, and everyone was busy socializing at their tables and the bar about one thing or another. Only a few spots were open, and they saw even fewer places were the two of them could settle inconspicuously. But no one gave them a glance or noticed them as they entered, so they thought they would be able to enjoy a meal without issue.

Rayla spied an empty table in the corner and pointed it to Callum as she said, “There’s an empty spot over there. Go sit down and I’ll grab us some food.” She pecked him on the cheek as they parted and she went over to the bar to order something for them. The elves of Xadia never produced alcohol of any kind, so Callum would have been greatly confused by its lack of it. It was similar to bars in the lands of humans only in that it was the area where someone would go if they wanted to be sociable with others. She approached it, and saw the bar was operated by a man. He looked older than Farkas, Rayla thought he looked around middle age or perhaps older. He was slightly top heavy with large, fat hands and he had a thick, dark-silvery grey beard. He let out a hearty laugh that could easily be heard among the bustle of the inn as he conversed with another patron, and he had a smile that wrapped around from one ear to the other. And at each end of his mouth were crescent markings that curled around it. She waited for him to stop laughing before she said politely, “Um, hello. I don’t mean to bother you, but me and my-”

She was interrupted before she could finish by the man who sad loudly in a gruff voice, “What? Can you speak up lass?”

She continued louder, “My friend and I were looking for some food, and we were sent here by Farkas. He said something about helping you return a favor.”

“He did. Did he?” The man said dubiously as his smile disappeared and he brought a hand to finger his beard, “And how’s the favor being returned?”

“A meal for me and my friend. Of… whatever you think the favor is worth.” She would have said ‘of course’ but decided against it, since she did not know what ‘favor’ Farkas had done for the man.

The man scuffed at Rayla’s response and looked her up and down before he gestured to her and asked annoyed, “Any reason why you’re dressed all cloak and dagger? And where’s your friend, is he invisible?”

She raised her hood up so he could better see her face and apologized to him, “Sorry, we’ve just been traveling. Force of habit. And he should be right over there.” She turned around and pointed towards the table she told Callum to sit at. He was hunched over in a chair in the corner and watched her as she spoke to the man. He waved meekly to her and she returned the wave.

She turned back to the man and his expression was unchanged. He continued annoyed, “And why isn’t he up here with you?”

“He’s a bit shy.” She used the same excuse from earlier, but the man didn’t seem anymore satisfied by it. He scoffed again before he called out,

“Jubal? Jubal!” Rayla heard a word of affirmation and turned to see a woman who must have worked at the inn. She was jostled from a conversation she had with another patron, and turned to attention at the call from the man. She was older than Rayla, and she thought she must have been close to Farkas’ age. She had white hair in a bun, was a bit plump, and clutched a pan nervously as she looked towards them. Rayla thought her markings were very intricate and beautiful, she had numerous ones which highlighted her facial features, but over her left eye was a marking similar to Farkas’. The man continued, “Go to the kitchen and grab a meal for this girl and her friend.” Jubal agreed without a word and went off towards a back room of the inn. After she disappeared the man said, “That’ll be four silver pieces.”

She questioned with some concern, “What about Farkas’ favor?”

“That _is_ with his favor.” The man said bluntly, “Normally it’s four per meal, but I’m only charging you for one. Food isn’t cheap around her lass.”

She agreed with the man’s reasoning, and begrudgingly produced the money for him. After he accepted it she took out her water sack and said, “Will you charge to fill this with water?”

“For that, no.” He said and took it from her and went to fill it. While he was gone she took a moment to examine the inn’s patrons more closely. There was a good mix of people there, most of them were around Farkas’ age or a bit older, and she only saw a few people around her age. She was reminded of her own home as she looked around and saw how happy everyone was and thought she would have liked to spend a few days there just to get a sense of normalcy back. She knew that with Callum it was out of the question, they could only hang around and be so close to other people without someone realizing he was a human. She didn’t begrudge Callum for this, she only wished things could have been different. After a moment the man returned with her water sack. He handed it to her and asked, “Is that lad you’re with your sweetheart or something lass?”

“Him? Yeah, I’d like to think so.” She replied fondly as she looked over her shoulder towards him.

“Well make sure he grows a spine. Will you?” The man said gruffly.

After she heard him the smile she had on her face faded away. She replaced it with a scowl as she turned around to him and said tersely, “Aye. I could do that.” She crossed her arms as she finished. And as she looked at the man she thought Callum had a bigger spine than he could ever have.

The man only coughed at the silence that followed to break the awkwardness and said, “Your food will be out in a moment. Jubal will bring it right over.” He waived her away and went back to his other patrons. She replied with a thanks she didn’t mean, and as she walked over to Callum she thought about a dozen nasty words she would have called the man if she didn’t want to be inconspicuous. She stomped over to the table, Callum fiddled his fingers and didn’t notice her until she was at the table. When he saw how upset she looked he asked concerned,

“Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine.” She said as she sat down next to him and grabbed his wrist before she kissed him lightly on the lips. She whispered sharply into his ear, “That man’s an asshole.”

He looked past her towards the bar where the man was and laughed lightly as he said, “You didn’t hurt him at all, that’s pretty good.”

“I don’t want us kicked out.” She said annoyed, “The most I would have done is say a nasty word or two, but I still want to lay low.”

“Was the favor worth anything?”

She said frustrated, “Not much by the way he acted. Back home I’d pay a coin for a meal; two if I wanted Moon-Berry surprise. But he would have charged us four coins each if it weren’t for the favor.”

“Yikes.” He said alarmed by the differences. “Why’s that?”

“Couldn’t tell you.” She said flatly as she slouched over the table. “He just said something about food being expensive around here.”

Callum reflected on what she said for a moment before he said, “I guess it kind of makes sense. We are in the middle of nowhere. I don’t really know how the economy works here but back home the farther I’d go out from a city the more expensive things would get. Stuff’s just easier to get there.”

She sighed and said, “Whatever the reason is he’s still a jerk.”

Callum patted her back and said soothingly, “Well, let’s just hope the food is good.” After he finished he looked up and saw a woman approach them with plates in hand. He sat up strait and Rayla sat up after she saw her too.

She placed the dishes on the table in front of them along with a drink and said to them, “Here you are. Must be a nice change of pace after being out in the wilderness. Let me know if you need anything else.”

She turned to leave but Rayla stopped her and asked, “Actually we could use one more thing. Jubal right?” The woman turned to her and replied with affirmation. Rayla continued, “We were looking for the doctor earlier and someone said he likes to hang out here sometimes. Is he here tonight?”

“The doctor?” Jubal said questioningly, “No. Haven’t seen him at all today. You need him for something?”

“Yes, but we know where his house is. We can always find him later.”

“You sure? If it’s important I could have someone fetch him.” She looked over both of them as she finished, and took a longer glance at Callum than was usual. He was unsettled by the odd glance she gave him and turned away from her uncomfortably.

Rayla grabbed her attention quickly and said reassuringly, “Thanks, but it’s nothing to worry about. Just some medicine we could use, but it can wait till we’re done eating.”

Jubal was slightly off put by Rayla’s demeanor but ignored it and said resignedly “Alright. If you say so. Just call me if you need anything.” Rayla thanked her again and she went away from them without another word.

The two of them were silent for a moment until she was out of earshot. Then Callum cleared his throat and said quietly, “Now I know how you felt when we had to sneak you around back home.”

She laughed lightly at his comment and said, “Hey, I think things are going pretty good.”

“Yeah but it’s still nerve racking.” He picked up a wooden spoon and poked at his food while he said, “I’ll have to make better disguise next time we do this. Not sure how to get the hair color right though.”

“Your hair’s going to be the least of your problems until we can do something about your accent. If you want others to think you’re a Moon-Shadow elf anyway.”

“I could always do my earth elf impression.” He smiled to her.

She spitted out a small laugh she couldn’t stop and said, “No way. If an Earth-Blood heard you they’d kill you on sight just for that.” They both shared a laughed and then she continued, “Let’s just enjoy the food for now and then we’ll see if we can find the doctor.” She picked up her own spoon and began to eat without another word, and Callum did likewise.

The dishes and utensils provided to them were entirely wooden, including the cups which only had water in them. On his plate was a small assortment of various foods. Most of it consisted of mixed vegetables he didn’t recognize, they were lightly seasoned but a salty taste permeated in all of them. They were various colors and sizes, and he thought they were cooked enough to be mushy. Besides the vegetables were sparse amounts of meat which tasted gamey, with a fruit based dressing drizzled over it. Rayla told him that while Moon-Shadow elves were not vegetarian most of their diet consisted of plants, with sparse meat thrown in. Besides the vegetables was a sort of rice-like grain which was snow-white with a coarse texture, and it tasted overbearingly sea-salty. It didn’t taste bad but he was unprepared for how salty it was, and reeled after he tasted it. After Rayla saw his reaction she said, “The white stuff is sea-rice from down south. I never really cared for it myself but Ethari could never get enough of it. Same for the rest of what’s here, it would have been a real treat for him.” She ended warmly as she thought of her uncle back home and continued to eat.

Callum took another spoon full of the rice and examined it carefully. Before he ate it he said, “You said it’s from down south. How south we talking, Sea-Elf south?”

She replied annoyed while she ate, “Yes Callum. **_Sea_** -rice comes from **_Sea_** -Elves. If it wasn’t completely obvious.”

He didn’t respond to her immediately, even though he didn’t like the tone she gave him since everything was still foreign to him. He thought over the implications of why a Sea-Elf dish was present in Moon-Shadow elf inn, then he asked her, “Just how far south did you take us?”

She paused eating when she heard his question, then her own realization came to her. She looked down at her plate and realized that it wouldn’t make sense for a small town inn to have a sea-elf dish unless it was readily available. Especially considering how the owner stated food was expensive there. She said slightly surprised, “Huh. Pretty far I guess. Oh well, no biggie. I wasn’t planning on taking you towards them but we can get directions after we leave. The Earth-Blood elves aren’t too far of a trip around them. Then you can meet your relatives.” She ended playfully and continued to eat. Callum was annoyed that she didn’t seem to care how directionless their journey was, especially since he thought she had gotten them lost a few times. He was about to ask how she managed to take him and Zym all the way to the Storm Spire without getting lost when he noticed someone approach their table from the bar.

He was tall, thin, had a darker complexion, and wore more decorative, but not gaudy, Moon-Shadow garments than the rest of town. He had silver hair in a bun with a silver needle through it, and the rest hanged down to his shoulders. He looked young but his eyes held a deep understanding that threatened to consume whoever looked into them. Over his face was a marking in the sharp of an open triangle or a mountain. It apexed on the bridge of his nose and the two lines went down his face and ended just below his lips. Rayla felt his presence or noticed Callum as he looked at him, and the two of them saw him as he made it to their table. “Hello.” He said in a deep, gentle voice, and it put them at ease, “My name’s Aubrey, they said you were looking for me.”

Rayla was slightly confused and said, “Uh, no. Least not for you specifically. Are you the doctor?” Aubrey said that he was, and after a brief pause he looked them over and politely asked if he could take a seat with them. She said that he could; he thanked her and grabbed a nearby chair and sat down across the table from them. After he sat down he folded his hands over the table and said very courteous,

“Now, and no rush since I know you’re still eating, but how could I help?”

Rayla was pleasantly surprised, she was still upset after her bad interaction with the barman and thought Aubrey was charmingly polite. In a way his kindness reminded her of Ethari. She gestured to Callum and said, “He got this really bad cut, and we were wondering if you might have some medicine so it doesn’t get infected or anything. We’d show you it but the cut’s on his, uh, rear.” She fiddle with her hands nervously as she said the last part to him. She was glad she came up with the lie earlier but it still seemed awkward for her.

“I see.” Was all he said before he looked over to Callum and examined him. He said somewhat humorously to them, “You’re sitting rather comfortably for someone with a bad cut on their rear-end.”

Rayla chimed in quickly and said, “Well of course! Callum’s tough!” She then punched Callum on the side of the arm which caused him to let out a small moan of pain. He rubbed the side of his arm and said entreatingly,

“Ow! Rayla…?”

She apologized to him and then heard a small laugh from Aubrey. He said gently as he laughed, “Yes, very tough I can see.” He breathed deeply before he continued, “Well, I don’t have anything here but after you’re done eating you’re more than welcome to come to my home. I’m sure I’ll have something for you there. Is that alright?” Rayla said that it would be. He stood up immediately after she was done and said, “Excellent. I’ll be at the bar and leave you two alone. No need to rush, I’ll be ready whenever you are.” Rayla thanked him cheerfully, and then they saw him walk back to the bar and sit down. They watched him there for a moment before Callum said warily,

“He’s…interesting.”

Rayla said, “Really? I think he’s nice.” She took another bite of her meal as she asked, “You don’t like him?”

“No. But, do you think he suspects anything?” He said cautiously as he turned to her.

“I think the only thing he suspects is that you don’t have a cut on your rear-end.” She said jokingly in between her chewing, “Besides that, so long as he has what we need and he doesn’t ask too many questions he’s fine by me.”

Callum continued to eat his own food as well and didn’t say anything further. He thought the doctor seemed peculiar in a way he wasn’t used to or could completely describe. But he decided not to share his reservations with her, as he was worried he could have possibly offended her. He was unsure if it was merely Moon-Shadow manners and customs he was unused to or if Aubrey was odd in general. He also felt the man had an aura about him that he wasn’t familiar with, and the mage within him felt that was reason enough for suspicion. He looked up from his dinner towards the bar where he sat and studied him for a moment. Aubrey spoke to the other patrons at the bar, but none of them seemed to have any misgivings with him as they socialized. They talked for a moment and then he must have said a joke, as everyone at the bar roared into laughter that could be heard over the general noise of the inn. Callum felt satisfied with his observations and somewhat guilty at his suspicion and went back to his meal. “What that is, is you being judgmental Callum” He thought to himself as he ate. He decided he should have no more concern with him than Rayla or any other member of the town did. He figured if there was a problem they could handle themselves.

Almost as soon as that thought entered his mind Rayla said decidedly without looking up from her meal, “I want you to go back to the camp and rest while I go with him.”

Callum was shocked by what sounded like an order from her and turned to her as he replied, “What? Why?”

She stopped eating and said coolly, “You don’t need to go if all we’re doing is getting some medicine. He’s not going to look at your finger and it’ll just be safer for you to skip out.” 

“If it’s safer-!” He began to say loudly but then checked himself after he remembered where he was. He looked around timidly and saw no one noticed, then he continued, “If it’s safer for me not to go why are you going with him by yourself?”

Rayla only stared at him before she brushed the side of his hood up and hissed out, “Hello, Mr. tree-for-horns. Do you want him asking questions?”

“He’s not going to ask anything we can’t answer.” He said firmly.

She asked harshly, “What’s with your confidence all of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden.” He said defensively as he folded his arms, “What’s with you wanting to ditch me all of a sudden?”

She felt caught by his accusation and said, “I’m not ditching you, I’m keeping you safe.” Part of this was a lie. She did have a small concern that Aubrey could discover he was a human, but for the most part she was sure his disguise was good enough to fool him so long as she did most of the talking. The main reason why she wanted him to go back and let her deal with the doctor herself is because she was sure they didn’t have enough money to afford medicine. She planned on offering to do work for him as compensation, or at the very worst steal it, but she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Whatever she had to do she didn’t want Callum to know about it. She didn’t want him to feel that he was a burden on them, and because she was responsible for his injury she had to make it right.

Callum did not realize this and only thought her concern was their ability to hide. He said cautiously as he whispered sharply through his teeth, “Safe? From what?” He wondered if Rayla felt similar suspicion to Aubrey as he did. While he decided to disregard his suspicions a moment ago he would be more than fine with renewing them if she felt the same way.

“From him finding out you’re…you know.” She said annoyed and gestured to him as she spoke. They had argued in hoarse whispers but she still felt hesitant to mention everything in case someone could hear.

He disregarded her concern and said, “He’s not going to.” She didn’t say anything in response but he saw her fold her arms and look disapprovingly at him. He reassured her, “He’s not. Like you said all we’re doing is getting some medicine. All we have to do is walk with him, maybe make some light conversation, buy it at his home, and leave.”

She disregarded him and let out a small groan before she brought her hands to her head and said frustrated, “You’re just adding another thing that can go wrong again Callum.”

He was annoyed that she decided to bring up a similar point she made when they argued not too long ago. Previously they had been in a fight with wild animals and Rayla told him to hang back while she handled them. She was almost injured at one point in the fight but Callum prevented it when he placed himself in between the animal and her and used the ‘Aspiro’ spell at the last moment. She appreciated the help later but at the time she was upset he didn’t listen to her, which Callum took as her blaming him. She told him that because she was the more experienced fighter he should listen to her in a fight and that since she was stronger he should be in the back where he could support her with his spells. He agreed that she was the more experienced fighter and that he should listen to her advice, but he felt he was more than capable of handling himself and that they should fight together. She told him that he would get in her way and that having him up front would only add another thing that could go wrong. By the end of their fight he gave into her, much to his disappointment, even though he enjoyed their cuddle afterwards. Ultimately he understood her reasoning for her battle tactics and wanting him to go back to the camp, but he wasn’t going to leave her simply because he didn’t want to. He remembered another point she made about when it was time to stick together, so he brought it up now, “You always tell me to stick close when it’s time to hide. But now when we’re hiding in plain sight you want me to leave? What if I’m caught without you? I won’t really be safer then.”

She gawked before she pointed and tried to start, “That’s – that’s very different!”

“How is it different?” He asked quickly to throw her off.

She tried to find her words but nothing came, she was so angry he used her own point against her. After a second she said, “Hiding in a ditch together is one thing, but trying to keep someone from finding out you’re human is another!” She was angry enough to be incautious in her words but she still spoke in a hoarse whisper. Callum replied,

“How is it? If I’m caught without you I’m dead. Better to just stick close and whatever happens at least we’re together.” She tried to interject in the second he paused but he continued before she could and said decisively, “Whatever it is you’re saying it doesn’t matter. I’m coming. That’s it.”

She paused for a moment at his final statement and leaned back in her seat before she tapped her hands on the table a few times in the silence. An annoyed look came over her face when she realized she couldn’t say anything to make him go back to the camp. She looked to him and he gave her a smug look, then she raised her hands up in defeat and said exasperated, “Fine. Fine. You want to come along, that’s fine. Just keep your mouth shut and it’s fine.”

She ended looking away from him and crossed her arms again. Callum felt that he had won their argument but was worried she would hold this against him later even if nothing went wrong. He still didn’t want her to go alone so he said nothing further and went back to eating his meal. She did likewise and they finished in silence. Afterwards they got up from their table and went to the bar for Aubrey as he made conversation with the other patrons. Almost as soon as they stood up he finished his drink in a large sip and walked over to meet them half way. When he reached them he asked how their meal was, and Rayla responded half-heartedly that it was good. He was satisfied with their response and said very little besides an exchange of pleasantries to them. Before he left he said his good byes to the bar, “Goodnight Conry, don’t let the others string you out too much.”

The man Rayla interacted with earlier responded in between serving his patrons, “Goodnight Aubrey. Careful not to let those two out of your sight. They’re little assassins you know.” He let out a roaring laugh as he ended. Callum and Rayla felt a bit uneasy at his comment, and she let out a nervous chuckle after she heard it. Aubrey jokingly agreed that he would keep an eye on them and waved Conry goodbye before he left the tavern with them.

The outside air was a stark change to the warm, stuffy, atmosphere of the tavern. Callum and Rayla were happy they had their cloaks. The air had cooled and they wrapped their cloaks close around them where before they wore them loosely in the tavern. Night had completely taken over the village while they ate. Besides the dim yellow light of the few lanterns in the village, and sparse fireflies, the surrounding area was illuminated by the light of the moon. Rayla looked up at the sky past the clearing of the town center and spied it, but she would have been able to tell how brilliant it was even if she was blind. It was in waxing gibbous, but still a bit more than a week away from full. Unfortunately for her and Callum she still wasn’t sure how to describe her connection to it. When she tried to explain how it felt to gain powers from it she said it felt exhilarating, but as natural as breathing. She also said that trying to explain it to him was like trying to explain an emotion. She focused on the moon for a moment too long and Callum and Aubrey pulled her away so they could continue to his house. She came out of her daze and followed them. She still wanted Callum to wait at the camp, and she had one more trick up her sleeve. Once they were a small distance from the inn Rayla went up to Aubrey and asked,

“Aubrey, could I ask your personal opinion as a doctor?” He was slightly surprised by her question but replied that she could and she continued, “If my friend’s injured don’t you think it’s best he goes back to the camp and rests while I get him some medicine?”

Aubrey stopped walking and turned to examine both of them. After he did he pointed to Callum and said, “If your friend wants to go back and rest, he can since he doesn’t want me to examine him. But if he feels able to he’s more than welcome to come. My personal opinion is that he should if he wants to.” He turned around to the path ahead and raised his hand up before he said positively, “Besides, I have a feeling both of you would love to see my home.”

At his response she let out a small sigh and resigned. She hoped Aubrey would have agreed with her argument and that she could have persuaded Callum to hang back, but she thought all in all it could be worse. She went to grab Callum’s hand so they could hold each other’s as they walked but he resisted and would not give it to her. She was confused but thought she must have grabbed his injured hand by mistake. She went to his other side and reached for that one but he resisted again and folded his arms over his chest in a humph. She understood his hint, but was very surprised by his actions and thought he was extremely petty. She folded her own arms and huffed next to him as they walked. Aubrey noticed this as they walked behind him and he let out a small chuckle that both of them heard. He turned around to them as they walked and asked Callum teasingly, “I take it your injury was the result of a ‘lover’s quarrel.’ Correct?” Both of them were shocked by his question and Rayla let out a mortified “No.” Callum asked how he got that idea and Aubrey responded light-heartedly, “Nowhere. Nowhere at all.” And he chuckled to himself again as they walked.

They continued for a few moments in silence, which left Callum alone to his thoughts. He was unable to read Rayla’s mind but he could tell easily that she was unhappy with him. Yet he was uncertain whether she was more upset that he refused to go back to camp, or that he wouldn’t hold her hand. He understood her worries, especially since he had them as well, but he believed her demands were completely unjustified. No one in town had discovered or at most even suspected he was human. The only hairy interaction they had was with the guard, and that was only because he brought up the Storm Spire. What angered him the most was that she attempted to use Aubrey against him. He thought that even if Aubrey told him to rest at the camp he would have refused and came with them as he said he would have. But Rayla’s attempt to go behind him, even in this small way, was incredibly egregious to him. While he was very upset he thought perhaps his actions were petty as well. He thought she only wanted to keep him safe, so he questioned whether he was right to distant himself from her when she had good intentions. He also desired to hold her hand, which he felt was a stronger push to forgive her. He wondered whether he could be too soft or easily persuade by Rayla because of how much he cared for her, and worried that was a bad thing both for himself and them as a couple. Before he could think deeper on the matter he was interrupted in his thoughts by Aubrey who said idly,

“We don’t usually see too many travelers visit here. Where do you two hail from?”

Rayla looked away from them off into the distance and responded gently but still peeved, “I’m from around the Silvergrove and he’s from up north.”

Aubrey turned around as he walked and said curiously, “How much farther north? A bit more past the Silvergrove or out of Artemia?”

Rayla turned to him and said annoyed, “Why are you asking?”

He turned away from them unoffended and shrugged before he said, “Just making conversation.” They walked for a for more seconds before he asked, “How long have you two known each other?”

“Rayla and I meet a few months ago.” Callum said, “We’ve really just been traveling since then, because we wanted to see the world and all.” He picked up the lie she told the guard from earlier. He found it easy to tell since it was all true, it just excluded details other wouldn’t understand.

He saw Aubrey scratch his chin from behind as he said, “That’s right, the two of you saw the Storm Spire didn’t you?”

Callum felt a pit fall into his stomach after he heard that. Rayla turned her head quickly to him and asked dubiously, “Where’d you hear that?”

He responded without emotion, “I was out of town on a walk and ran into Farkas after you left him. I like to keep tabs on the village, since I’m responsible for their wellbeing. And he told me about how you two had apparently been all across Xadia to the Storm Spire.” He turned around and smiled to them before he said, “That must have been quite the trip.”

Callum stuttered as he said, “Uh…yeah it was really a trip.”

Before he could say anything further Aubrey said enthusiastically, “I’ll say. The closest way to it is a three week march in either direction around the Midnight Desert. How was that journey?”

He stuttered for a second as he thought of a response but Rayla said kindly, “It’s a _really_ long story.”

Undeterred, Aubrey continued, “I’m sure it must be, but I’d love to hear it. Did you two go by the North or South route?”

She responded very curtly, “Like I said. It’s a **_really_** long story, and I don’t want to be rude but we’re really just tired from traveling for so long. Otherwise we’d tell you all about it.”

Aubrey apologized and said sympathetically as turned to the path, “Of course, my apology. If you’ve been traveling for as long as you say you must worn out. You choose the perfect place to rest, Loruthven might not have much to see but it’s very calm.” He turned to face them again and asked, “Do you think you’ll be staying long?”

Rayla drew out her response as she thought about it herself, “Uh…We’re not sure actually. We’re camped not too far from here, but we’ll probably just rest a day or two before we move on.”

“Strange.” He said more to himself than them, “I don’t know how you two could be so tired you can’t speak but ready to leave in little more than a day.” He paused for a moment for them to respond, but neither of them said anything besides a contemplative moan. He turned back to the path and disregarded them with a wave of his hand as he said, “But as young as you are I can’t imagine you want to be still for any longer than you have to. I was the exact same way when I was your age. There was always something else to see. Speaking of which, we’re here!” He ended as he extended his arms ahead in exclamation.

They made their way through the forest outside of town into another opening where Aubrey’s house was. His home occupied a fair amount of land, a small iron and stone wall encircled his property and bore similar designs and runes to that of the stones found within the town. The gateway was open and when they passed through it they saw a beautiful garden that took up a vast majority of the grounds. They were bewildered by the beauty of it, and looked around themselves as they struggled to take in everything at once. Callum saw menhirs and dolmen dotted around the garden like statues, but they were very well kept unlike the ones in town and all of the runes engraved into them were legible. Rayla grabbed his attention as she pointed out the numerous trees, hedges, plants, and colorful flowers of the garden. He took in the beauty as it was brought to his attention, but he was drawn to a very special tree in the garden. It seemed to beckon him to it by an empowering radiance, that appeared to be more than a simple chance encounter. When his eyes saw it he grabbed Rayla’s hand and called her to look at it and her breathe was taken away when she saw it. Off on one side of the garden, placed in an area of honor was a beautiful tree that wasn’t the largest in the garden but it was easily the most distinguishable. It appeared similar to an elder tree and bore fruit that looked similar to elderberries, but the tree itself exuded a silvery luminescence in the moonlight and its berries appeared to have dim stars glowing within them. As they looked at it they were filled with a calming radiance that neither of them were sure how to describe.

Aubrey approached them as they were captivated by it and said gently, “You have a keen eye Callum.” They were struck from their daze and both to turned to look at him as he spoke, “This is a very rare tree that was once common in Loruthven and long ago in all of Artemia. Its true name is lost to time, but it’s more commonly known as a ‘Moon Tree.’”

“Moon Tree.” Callum said the name to himself. He felt the name did not capture its magnificence but he pondered on its meaning all the same. “It’s close to the Moon Arcanum?” He asked.

“Yes, more so than others. But its significance could be said another day. Are you a scholar of the arcanum.”

“No, not really.” He replied quickly, but gently. “It’s just beautiful is all, and I get where the name comes from.”

“Indeed.” Aubrey said as he looked and admire it himself. He ended his gaze and turned to them before he said, “I happy to see you made up quickly.” He gestured to their hands, which they had held unconsciously the entire time. They both looked down and after they realized it they were a bit flustered. Part of them felt they had not been angry with each other long enough to make up yet, such was the unspoken game they played, but they did not stop holding hands. They were happy to enjoy the garden together, and even if they could not say it to each other, they knew what each of them were upset over was not worth it. Aubrey spoke again and said, “But we’re getting side tracked, I should have what you need in my home. This way please.” As he said this he made a straight line towards a large tree in the center of the garden.

Rayla and Callum were very impressed by the extravagancy of his home compared to the rest of the village, but they had only taken notice of the gardens and failed to notice his house. As the old woman said his house was a large tower that took up the entirety of a large oak tree. The tree itself appeared to be ancient but very healthy despite the tower built into it. From the outside they could see windows, doors, and balconies built into and outside of the tree, and it appeared to contain many floors within which lead to the top until no further additions could be seen behind the foliage. They approached the front door which was light purple in color with silver knobs and hinges. They marveled at it for a moment before Aubrey produced a key. He went inside and they tried to followed him but before they could he closed the door behind him without a word. They were puzzled that he left them outside without any mention and Rayla turned to Callum as she asked, “He did say, ‘This way please’ right?”

“Yeah. I thought he did.” Callum said confused.

“Maybe he’s getting the medicine inside to bring out to us.” Rayla said, and Callum agreed with her. They waited outside for a moment but Aubrey did not appear. Rayla knocked on the door and after a second they were surprised to see it open it a crack.

Aubrey poked his head out and said, “Yes? Is something the matter?” He seemed to be as confused as they were.

“Uh…no. I don’t think so.” Rayla began to say slowly, “But… could we please come inside?”

At her request Aubrey brow’s picked up in surprise, and he opened the door wide to them as he said apologetically, “Yes. Yes absolutely. Please come right in.” Rayla and Callum both looked at each other before they went in and shrugged. They were unsure what to make of the situation but assumed it was a simple slip of the mind on his part. They entered his home and were greeted by a wave of warmth that was almost overbearing compared to the night air. It wasn’t stuffy but it smelled like an old home, with furniture and walls from ages past. The inside was dimmer than outdoors since the entranceway possessed few windows to allow light in, and a few unlit glass lamps hung from the walls. Aubrey closed the door behind them gently and ushered them to a side room. When they entered it they realized the heat emanated from that part of the house. It was a side parlor that was dimly lit by a calm, orange glow from a fireplace in the wall. They could make out green seats arranged in a sitting area close to the fire with a matching rug on the floor, and cabinets lined the walls along with old paintings and other artwork. Once they entered the room Aubrey turned to them and said upset with himself,

“Please forgive my rudeness. I live out here on my own and always close the door behind me out of habit. When you didn’t follow me I just assumed you were admiring the workmanship of the house and I began putting my things away before you knocked on the door.” He rubbed his hands over his face exhausted before he said apologetically, “I should have invited you inside. My sincerest apology.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Rayla said as she removed her hood from her face. The warmth of the room made it unbearable to have it on, and she felt bad for Callum since he wouldn’t have the luxury to remove his.

When she removed it Aubrey grew a worried look on his face and approached her as he stuck a hand out towards her. His facial expression and gesture gave her anxiety and she unconsciously steeped away from him as Callum began to step between them. Aubrey asked in a concerned voiced that soothed both of them, “Rayla, did you cut yourself too?” He presented part of her hair forward that was covered in dried blood.

Her eyes went wide and she remembered all of Callum’s blood she got on herself when she injured him. She thought she must have touched her hair before she wiped her hands clean but she couldn’t remember. She pulled her hair back and said nervously as she fiddle it, “Oh no. That must be from Callum after I tried helping him. Must have gotten it all over myself without realizing.” She made a small forced laugh, as Aubrey brought his hand that touched her hair to his face. He seemed to smell his fingers and then a shocked expression came over his face which concerned both Rayla and Callum. Then after an instant Aubrey’s expression changed to disgust and he let out a violent coughing fit as he said in between coughs,

“Excuse me…I must have touched something foul earlier…just… a moment and I’ll get your medicine…” He excused himself from the parlor as he coughed and left the two of them alone. Even after his cough faded away into the house they only stood in the parlor, dazed by what happened. A second later Callum looked to Rayla, who looked off towards the direction Aubrey went, and brought his face to her hair and breathed it in. His sudden gesture snapped her out of her daze and she pushed him away as she said embarrassed,

“What are you doing?”

He stuttered for a moment as he said very warmly, “I mean…I didn’t think it smelled bad.”

Rayla blushed and walked away from him towards the couches as she said, “I know it doesn’t. It’s probably your blood and whatever else is mixed with it that he couldn’t stand.” She sat down and crossed her arms.

Callum sat down at her right and said teasingly, “Uh, probably not. More than likely I’m just used to your pungent musk by now. When was the last time you took a bath by the way?” He stuck his head towards her obnoxiously as he ended.

She pushed him away lightly and said annoyed, “More often than you, I bet.”

He was unable to keep out a small chuckle as he said, “No, I’m pretty sure I bathe more than you. By a lot actually. I think even Ezran bathes more than you, and he hates baths. He told me once that when he’s King he’d outlaw them. But frankly I’ve always enjoyed them, even the outdoor ones. That’s why I’ve been so keen on finding a nice little waterfall or stream for us to clean our stuff in every so often. You really should use the next one we find. Or change into another set of clothes every once in a while. ” She replied with affirmation in between each of his statements but he went on until she almost yelled out,

“Alright I get it!” He reeled back at her response and they looked at one another for a moment. He was slightly taken aback by her outburst and he could see she was angry, but it only hid her embarrassment. Silence returned and she continued, “I’m a pig and stink like one too. No need to rub it in.” She brought up her knees and hugged them as she stared into the fire. Which consumed her fascination as Callum spoke,

“I didn’t say that. Just that maybe you could clean up in river every once in a while.” She rolled her eyes at him but he continued, “And I didn’t say I don’t like how you smell. And honestly…” He blushed as he continued embarrassed, “Honestly if anything I kind of like it.” He said in a rush.

“You what?” She turned to him in surprise but he could not look at her. He continued and grew more embarrassed as he went on,

“I mean…” He struggled to put the thoughts he’s had into words, “You’re…really athletic.” He turned to her quickly and smiled sheepishly as he occasionally dropped her gaze, “And I guess, whenever you fight, or work, or push yourself. – I mean – You get really sweaty.” He swallowed, “And just seeing you like that and then knowing what you _smell_ like when you’re like that. It…it does something for me.” They shared look with each other after he finished. But he couldn’t even look at her for more than a second before he turned away embarrassed. He felt his cheeks get warmer and looked into the fire and thought it would feel cool compared to his face.

Rayla didn’t say anything for a moment. She brushed part of her hair behind her ear and turned to him as she said embarrassed, “You _like_ when I’m sweaty and gross?”

He turned to her to speak but only opened and closed his mouth as he tried to decide and find his words. Eventually all he said was a definitive and sudden, “Yes.” A shocked look came over Rayla after he said it and he had to look away from her. He thought she wouldn’t understand what he meant, and wondered if he even understood himself. He worried that she would think he’s weird or gross, and thought that was exactly what she believed now.

As he felt this way she grabbed his left hand softly, and he turned to her after she did. She looked uncomfortable and said as she looked in his direction but towards the floor, “I don’t mind if you do. In fact I…kind of like it.” She looked him in the eye as she finished but only for a moment, and Callum saw her blush.

“You do?” He exhaled more than spoke as relief entered him.

“Yeah.” She drew out slowly and then tried to be wryly, but she was still embarrassed as she continued, “And if you want, maybe we can…get closer, next time I am.” She tried to look at him in the eye again, but she couldn’t.

“Yeah.” He said breathlessly. She turned to him after he did and he continued, “I’d like that.” They looked at each other for a moment as they both blushed and smiled like idiots. Nothing else was said between them, and then without realizing it they inched their faces towards each other. They closed their eyes when they were about to touch and kissed each other gently. It was a small but passionate kiss when they started, but it quickly grew more intimate and involved. Neither of them was the sole initiator, as was typical when they kissed, but they both found themselves wanting more of the other. Callum reached up with his good hand towards her hair. He let it fall in between his fingers and then went up to her ear and around to the back of her head and pulled her closer for the kiss. Rayla liked to be handsy whenever they kissed in private. She was conscious that they were in someone’s home but she reached up under his scarf and groped his neck and collar bone with her right hand. He let out a small shiver, as was typical whenever she did something like that, but they did not slow. They stayed like this for a second until Rayla grabbed his left hand and squeezed it tight unconsciously. The pain he felt in his hand caused him to retreat from their kiss for a second but he did not say anything. Rayla noticed this and softly asked concerned,

“What’s wrong?” She squeezed his hand tighter, as the moment made her forget his injury.

Callum winced and said, “Nothing. But maybe…” He gestured to his hand and Rayla instinctively retracked herself from it as if it was fire. She scrunched her face up in anger and lowly called herself stupid under her breath. He tried to reassure her and said her name as he began to reach for her again. He didn’t want to stop, he just wanted her to be gentle with his injury. Before he could get much further he was interrupted by Aubrey who said,

“Pardon me.” When they heard his voice they both looked towards him and saw that he stood in the middle of the room a few feet in front of them before the fire. They did not notice when entered the room, and while they both were very much occupied they felt that he almost appeared suddenly before them. He continued, “I don’t mean to interrupt but I should have something for your friend.” He put out his hand which held a small vial with a grey substance within it. They began to get up from the couch and he continued, “I understand that because of the nature of your injury you’d prefer me not to see it, but this should help with the healing and pain of it if you apply it daily.”

“That’s great.” Rayla said relieved and went up to him, “How much for it?”

“Fifteen silver pieces.” He said plainly.

When she heard the price she felt her heart dropped into her stomach. She understood from the tavern keeper that prices where more expensive there, but she thought it must have been five times more expensive than what she would have bought back home if she had a cut. She began to say desperately, “We-we got three pieces now. But I’m sure we can figure something out, can’t we?” She began to walk closer to him as she spoke and Callum followed her and said her name gently.

Aubrey dismissed their worries and said, “Yes, of course we can. I do need of a few household chores done actually. Ingredient shopping, delivery, cleaning, firewood chopping.” He turned to the fire at his last comment and admired it as he said, “The fires seem to be dying now, speaking of which.”

Rayla said, “Yeah, it must be getting late. I’ll give you what money we have and be here first thing in the morning.” She held out her hand but Aubrey pulled the vial away and said softly,

“There’s no need to leave now.”

She continued anxious, “Well, not to worry you but our camp is a good walk away, and we kind of need this. So if we could just uh, grab it and go-” She made another step towards him but Aubrey held up his hand and said,

“No. Like I said there’s no need to leave. You two are more than welcome to spend the night.” Neither Callum or Rayla said anything but they both let out a prolong, “uh” at his offer. Aubrey dismissed their refusal and gestured them to the hallway and asked them to follow him, which they hesitantly agreed to. He guided them through the halls of his home as he said, “I have a guest room with a bed for each of you. It’s where my niece and nephew stay when they visit but they haven’t been here in a while.”

Rayla said, “That’s really kind Aubrey but we couldn’t possible put you through the trouble.”

He again dismissed their worries, “Oh no, no trouble at all. I absolutely love the company.”

She tried to dissuade him as she was sure they would have trouble keeping the lie and said, “Sure and we appreciate it, but me and Callum really like our privacy.”

He said confidently, “And privacy you shall have. Right this way.”

It was a short walk from the parlor to the room he spoke of. It was on the second floor up a narrow winding stair case down the hall to a small door at one corner of the house. He opened it to a small dark room. He stepped inside and tapped at two small glass lanterns at either wall, and they lit up by fireflies that danced within. There were two small beds at each side of the wall with enough space between them for two people to stand snuggly together. The bed on the left had a cyan blue blanket, and the right was red. Both of the blankets looked faded from use, but the beds were neat and still looked very comfortable. High at the back wall was a small window that let in moon-light, and at the foot of the beds were two small pine drawers. Their smell permeated the room. After they got a look of the room Aubrey stepped out and said, “This’ll be your room for as long as you stay here. There’s a chamber pot down the hall, and I only ask you clean up after yourselves if you use it.”

They both thought the room looked cozy and would have loved to spend the night after traveling through the wilderness for the past weeks. But they were hesitant that Aubrey could’ve discovered them. Rayla said, “This is really nice, but we can’t stay.”

“Well why not?” It was a simple question, but she was hard press to give an answer to it. Callum was the one to answer and said,

“We can’t just leave our camp. What if someone takes our stuff?”

Rayla thanked him in her head for the cover, but Aubrey was undeterred and said kindly, “Your camp will be just fine if left alone for one night. We have so few travelers here, and even fewer thieves.” They had an odd but pleasant feeling as he said this, and by the way he looked at them so warmly. They felt very much at ease as he continued, “You can work off your debt while you live here. And I know you want to keep your injury private, but at least if you stay here I can get an idea of how my treatment is working. Plus, I think you two have earned one night in a warm bed.” Rayla looked at Callum under his hood for a moment but neither of them spoke as they thought over his offer. Aubrey said to the silence, “And of course you’re more than welcome to join me for breakfast tomorrow. I make a delicious Moon-berry surprise.”

At Moon-berry surprise Rayla was heartbroken. It was so long since she last had one, but she couldn’t make Callum spend the night while hiding. She was about to regrettably refuse his offer when Callum said, “I’ll probably skip on breakfast. It sounds nice but I’ll just try to rest my rear if that’s alright?”

“Of course, no problem at all.” Aubrey said and presented the vial to him, “Dab your finger into it and only apply the ointment that comes out sticking to it. Do that every day until it runs out or your cut heals. Do you understand?” Callum replied that he did and Aubrey turned to Rayla and continued, “I realize you’re short on money so I’ll let you keep what you have. You’ll just have to do a bit more work for me in return. You could even stay and work for me for extra money after you repaid your debt if you want.” He paused for a moment before he added, “I ask that you please don’t explore my home until I show you around more tomorrow, but do you need anything else?”

Rayla replied dazed, “I - no. Nothing at all.” She turned to Callum and said, “You’ll be fine staying here?”

Callum said, “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Aubrey interjected, “Considering your friend’s injury I’d think you’ll be more than fine staying here for bit. Anything else at all before goodnight?”

They replied that there wasn’t, so he wished them goodnight. He told them the lamps would dim themselves if left alone and went to his quarters. They entered their room and closed the door behind them, and Rayla sat down on the Cyan bed to examine it. It felt somewhat stiff but a far cry from sleeping in the wilderness. She tapped at the bed before she turned to Callum and said, “You don’t mind?”

Callum removed his hood and wiped his brow as he said, “Sleeping in a bed? No. It’ll be annoying to spend the day locked in here without my sketch book, but I’ll manage.”

He sat down at her left, and she leaned on him as she said, “I can always grab it for you if you want.”

“No, better that you just do whatever work he has in mind so we can leave before tomorrow ends.” He grabbed her hand and said sweetly, “Do you want to share a bed?”

She smiled wryly and leaned into his face before she said, “Nope. I’m good.” She got up from the bed and went over to the other with a small bounce.

“What, but why?”

“Oh, cause I’m still just a little bit mad at you.” She said teasingly and began to remove her cloak.

He let out a small moan, “Aw, but why? This’ll be nice, and we’re safe here.”

“I know we are.” She removed her armor and revealed her undershirt. Her armor still had dried blood on it from earlier. She wrapped her cloak around it and stowed it inside the drawer. She said still teasing, “But now I have to make sure he doesn’t bother you too much while I do all the heavy lifting tomorrow.” She turned to him smiled and said not angry at all, “So I’m still a little mad.”

He folded his arms and said grumpy, “I’m still mad you cut me but I thought we made up?” She let out a small wince she thought he didn’t notice. He continued, “It’s fine now. We got medicine and I’m sure it’ll heal up in no time.” He paused as he waited for a response from her but she didn’t say anything. He said, “Is there another reason you don’t want to?”

She relaxed and went to kneel on the floor in front of him. She said tired, “No, not really. I’m just not in the mood right now. Okay?” He replied that he understood. She touched his face and said, “Tomorrow when we’re back on the road we’ll cuddle all night. Deal?”

“Deal.” He said, and the two of them leaned in to kiss each other. After they parted she told him to apply the ointment before bed. He said he would and pulled off the cork of the vial; he was greeted with a harsh acidic smell. He removed his gloves and bandages to get at his cut. When he did he felt minor pain as the bandages exited his wound, and subdued a small grunt from the pain and dipped his finger into the solution. He felt a sharp discomfort in his finger after he did, but from his experiences with medicine it was expected. She helped him reapply the bandages just as the light of the lanterns faded. Then she got up and went to her bed and said goodnight to him, and he returned the sentiment. He removed his horns, cloak, scarf, and shirt and placed them on the drawer before he settled into his bed. He was happy that the blush from the mist-flowers would last until he took a bath, but he already felt itchy like Rayla said he would. Despite his itchiness and pain in his finger he relaxed into sleep and a deep peace came over him that he had not known since before he was out in the wilderness.

He dreamed lucidly but it only carried him to a small room like the one he slept in. He dreamed he was alone in bed and was shackled to it by an unbearable fatigue and could not leave it if his life depended on it. He tried to look to his side for Rayla but he could not see beyond his bed. Then a shadow of a silhouette of a person appeared before his bed. He felt its presence was close to the aura of the moon and thought it was her but, that it was distorted and shadowed. She drew closer but it she seemed a hundred miles away even so close as she was. She leaned down to him and kissed him lightly on the lips, he tried for more but she retreated as she leaned over him. He thought he saw he smile before she kissed his lips once, and then began to kiss down his face until it reached his neck just above his collar bone where she touched him earlier. The kisses started light but grew until they reached his neck, where she almost consumed him. At the climax he felt all of her weight on him and a fatigue worse than before, but immense pleasure he had never known before. He felt consumed by her and desired it, he tried to reach around her and embrace her but he was too weak to even do that. Eventually his dreamed faded into a black void, full of neither rest nor peace. Until he awoke the next day.


	2. Rude Awakenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the events of the previous night Rayla works towards repayment of their debt, while Callum reminisces on his audience with the Dragon Queen oh so long ago. But something threatens to keep them chained to Loruthven for the foreseeable future. Can the masquerade be maintained, or will all secrets be revealed?

A loud knock thundered through the small bedroom and disturbed whatever peace was left within. Callum groaned from the noise and felt it echo into his skull as a headache when he awoke. Another knock ricocheted through the bedroom, he turned over in bed and groggily asked Rayla to answer it. He thought it must have been Aubrey at the door to have her begin work at the crack of dawn and was surprised he would wake them so early. He thought it was almost cruel in a way, but he was far too exhausted to even protest. Imagine his surprise to hear Rayla on the other side of the door. She said slightly concerned, “Callum, you awake in there? You’ve been sleeping all day.”

At her statement his eyes opened wide, but he was blinded by the light before he could see. After his eyes adjusted he saw sunlight poor in from the window and bath the room in a warm glow that contrasted the stale air within. He groaned and readjusted himself in bed and felt a soreness in his neck to add on top of his headache. His finger was throbbing too and he was now made all too aware of it. Rayla spoke at the door and said his name in singsong before he answered groggy, “Yeah, I’m up. Come in.”

The door creaked as she opened it slowly. She had a small plate and fork in hand and a small pouch slung over her shoulders by a string. She wore her undershirt from the night before. She had dirt marks up her arms, and a small amount of sweat over her brow. She closed the door behind her and said, “I brought you breakfast, or really lunch now I guess. You hungry?”

He sat up in bed and stretched a bit as he yawned, “I guess.” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and asked, “What time is it?”

She sat down on the bed and removed the pouch from her as she said, “Almost noon. Did you sleep well?”

“Sort of.” He craned his neck, “I must have slept on my neck weird or something last night. It’s all sore now.”

“You weren’t comfy?” She said surprised and tested the feel of the bed, “My bed was pretty good actually.”

“No. I was probably the most comfortable I’ve been in a while. The bed’s good, but I guess I just got used to sleeping on the ground.”

She replied thoughtfully, “I definitely get that. It’s almost weird being back in civilization. I feel like I’ve turned into a bit of a wild-woman from traveling so much.” She presented the plate to him and said, “But I could never be one, unless the food was this good.”

He looked at the plate, it was made of plain, off-white porcelain and a faded silver outline circled the rim. On it was a pewter fork rough with age, two poached eggs, a collection of cooked plants which took up the majority, and a small pastry-like dish with mushed moon-berries that leaked out of the top. “Moon-berry surprise?” He said and pointed to it.

Rayla beamed, “Yes, but save it for dessert! Mine was great, almost as good as back home.”

He picked up the fork and said before he began to eat, “Why is it called moon-berry surprise again?”

She giggled and said, “You’ll find out in a minute.”

He was very pleased with the quality of the food. The eggs were cooked to be just runny enough, and lightly seasoned. The collection of plants included bean-like vegetables, and fruit that tasted like a cross between an orange and a grapefruit with the texture of an apple. He thought everything was delicious but that he would never get used to how sparse meat was in Moon-Shadow dishes. As he ate he asked her how she slept and she replied that she slept fine except for a strange dream. He asked what she dreamed of and she said, “Nothing too interesting. I was trudging through this marsh that got dirtier the deeper I went in, and I was being eaten alive by these leaches, but by the end I think I became one or something? It was weird.”

“You became one? Like a giant leach? Or this half-elf, half-leach super monster?” He said fascinated.

“No just a regular leach. I think? It was really weird, and honestly the water was worse. I couldn’t see the bottom and thought every step I’d take I would just fall into this _abyss_ and never get out.” She shivered.

“So a bad dream?” He asked.

She thought it over a moment and said, “Yeah, but it wasn’t like those ones where I feel helpless. I was fighting, and it was all over the place but that part I remember the most. You were in it too but just for like a second. You were being eaten by this giant one but you flew out of it as an eagle or something. I can’t really remember.”

As she ended Callum finished his meal and said absentmindedly, “You were in my dream too.”

“Really? What happened?” She asked curiously.

He moaned for a second before he said anything and berated himself in his head for bringing it up. He wanted to tell her about his dream if only to share his feelings, but he felt too uncomfortable about its subject to want to go into detail. “We were… sharing a bed.” He said finally.

“Oh?” She said surprised by his simple response. She crossed her arms and said curiously, “What else?”

He moaned again and felt himself blush slightly, but he hoped the mist-flower’s pollen that covered his face would hide it. He looked to the side and spoke with his hands, “Well…Did I ever tell you how my Dad would talk about ‘people sandwiches’ when he talked about things like this?” He realized he hadn’t expanded on the subject enough for her to understand what he meant but he hoped the visual image of a ‘people sandwich’ would allow her to piece it together herself. Unfortunately sandwiches were still a very foreign concept for Rayla.

She looked off to the ceiling and said ponderously to herself as she tried to put it together, “Sandwiches, sandwiches…” She looked back to him when she remembered, “I know they have to do with bread. But it’s food or other stuff mixed into the bread or something, right?”

He fiddled with his hands as he spoke, “Um, close. It’s food stuffed between two pieces of bread. But in a ‘people sandwich’ the people are the bread.”

She looked at him confused and said dubiously, “You dreamed we had food mushed between us in bed?”

He made a small laugh before he corrected her and said, “No. In a ‘people sandwich’ there’s no food. So we were just uh, mushed together.”

She processed what he said, then a realization came to her and she said embarrassed, “Oh. It was one of _those_ dreams?” Callum didn’t say anything but nodded and smiled sheepishly. She fidgeted as she fixed herself on the bed and crossed her arms again. She blushed and looked away from him as she said, “If you were that lonely I’m glad I was in my own bed.”

At her comment he felt himself blush harder than the night before, and he was sure it was visible through the pollen on his face. The two of them have been close to one another but their intimacy has never gone beyond handsy kisses or cuddling, so they were still awkward for more involved acts. He had an embarrassing experience when they slept together about a week ago. It was a rainy night and they were tired from a long day of marching. They didn’t have time to setup a tent so they propped up a tarp against the side of a large tree and cuddled together for warmth under their blankets. His back was against the tree and he hugged her from behind as they laid together. They would have been miserable from the rain and how cold it was but they managed to make a small den of comfort together. It was very peaceful at the time and he was about half-asleep when he felt himself become aroused. He was frozen in fear and tried to readjust himself so as not to poke into her. But since he was against the tree he did not have much room to move himself, so he was worried that she would notice. But any awkwardness he felt in the moment and possibility for the situation to go further went away in an instance. Rayla accidently squirmed in her sleep and poked him in the eye with one of her horns. She was asleep at the time, and Callum thought she must have jostled her head into him by accident. He yelped in pain after she poked him and she woke up from his yelp and apologized to him. She did not bring up that she noticed anything from him after the fact so he thought she didn’t notice his arousal. They slept in the opposite arrangement afterwards so that she couldn’t poke him in the eye, and he was quietly grateful that it avoided any possibility of embarrassment for himself.

Besides that one interaction that was as close as they got to anything that happened in his dream. Not to say he had never thought about it since then or that his dream from the night before was a rarity. He certainly hoped to be more intimate with Rayla one day and assumed she wanted to be as well. But while he could not speak for her he felt that he certainly wasn’t ready to be that intimate with her anytime soon. He was content with the physical and emotional closeness they had already and was admittedly anxious about moving forward.

He came back to reality and noticed Rayla still had her arms crossed and looked up and away as she tapped her fingers against her arms. After a second she turned to him and asked awkwardly but hopefully, “Was… your dream good?”

He wanted to say a definite, “Yes.” But he felt he would have been too deprived to admit it. He felt his dream was enjoyable but certainly not the ‘traditional’ subject for that type of dream. Instead he dragged out, “Kind of…not really. I thought like you were you – and it was good – but you weren’t – I mean…Mine was weird too.” He ended nervously and scratched his face. He felt the itchiness of the pollen had become unbearable.

“Don’t scratch.” She said kindly, “You’ll make it worse.”

He became self-conscious of his scratching and stopped at her comment. He said gently, “Uh, thanks. Is the pollen still on my face?”

“It is, but I think your markings came off.” She pointed at his face but he could not see the blue markings had faded, “You’ll have to scrub really hard next time you bathe if you want the pollen to come off. But don’t scratch unless you want it to feel worse.”

He thanked her and then silence came back to room as the air between them became awkward again. He looked down on the bed as neither of them could look at each other and he spied the yet uneaten moon-berry surprise on his plate. “So uh, moon-berry surprise!” He said energetically and pointed to it in an attempt to shatter the awkwardness. “I should probably eat this now while I have the chance.”

She looked towards him and remembered the treat. She beamed at him and said, “Oh my gosh I completely forgot about it! Yes, go ahead! I can’t wait for it.”

He reached for it but hesitated and asked, “Wait for what?”

She gestured for him to take it and said “You’ll see, just eat it.” He picked it up and examined it before he took a bite. The outer shell of the moon-berry surprise felt crisp and a bit sticky. He asked her what it was made of and she said, “The shell is made from the peel of a fruit we have here in Artemia. It looks kind of like a banana, except it’s cream in color and the peel tastes a bit bitter. Back home Ethari would add honey to it for sweetness but I think Aubrey used tree-syrup on his.” He examined it one last time before he took a small bite out of it, and moon-berries gushed out from the shell as he took a bite. He slurped them up as they leaked out and thought every part of it tasted great for the most part. He was surprised by the taste of moon-berries the first time he ever had them. He expected them to taste like strawberries, cherries, or some other sweet fruit, but they tasted more like pomegranates and were more savory than sweet. They tasted like that in the treat but he also tasted a strange flavor that lightly permeated the berries, but he disregarded it as another additive in the treat as it still tasted good. He looked at Rayla after his first bite and she had a look of anticipation on her face. He said,

“So where’s the surprise?”

“It’s coming. Keep going.” She said in anticipation. He was slightly concerned by how excited she was for him to try it, but the initial taste of the moon-berry surprise relieved most of his anxiety. He expected the surprise to be another fruit mixed in the center, or maybe even a creamy filling that would gush out at him if he ate it too quickly. He took another bite out of it slowly as a precaution but he was surprised by what he found. As he bit into it he felt a hard disk at its center, and it tasted like bitter metal. He groaned as he removed his mouth from it and saw a silver piece protrude from it. Rayla got up and came around him to see what was inside. She said pleased, “Well that’s an old one.”

“Old what?” Callum said as he wiped the bitterness off his tongue onto his sleeve.

She pointed to the treat and said, “You got a coin for your surprise.”

“That’s it?” He said as he looked at her.

“Well yeah. Sometimes it’s a coin, or maybe a piece of candy, or something nasty like an old mushroom. They’re really fun.” He plucked out the coin as she spoke and looked at it, it was a regular silver piece the elves of Xadia used as currency. She continued, “They could be anything from treats, or presents, or even pranks. Ethari told me Runaan gave him his betrothal band in one of them before he asked him in marriage.” Callum examined the moon-berry surprise with renewed interest and realized why she liked them so much. They seemed to be a catch-all for any occasion and he knew that as sweet as Rayla was she loved any opportunity to show additional affection, even if she didn’t think so herself.

He looked at the coin and said, “Is this part of his payment or are you working for extra now?”

She sat down next to him and said, “I don’t think so. He said there’d be a special surprise in yours but I still owe him some work.”

“How’s that been going actually?”

“Pretty good I think.” She said honestly, “He woke me up just after dawn. I was half asleep but he was wide and awake when he got me. You didn’t notice?”

He chuckled, “No I slept like a log last night.”

“Right, anyway I’ve been working almost non-stop today. He gave me time to eat breakfast and I would have come to check up on you then but he didn’t give time. Honestly it feels like he’s trying to tire me out.” She laughed to herself as she ended.

Callum asked concerned, “He’s not working you too hard is he?”

She assured him, “Oh no! I’ve been working a lot but most of it’s been pretty easy. He started me out with easy work in the beginning of the day. I was dusting and sweeping around the house, but that was after he had me try to sort through his library – which reminds me – I asked him if I could borrow a book or two from him I’d think you’d enjoy. I found one all about the Moon arcanum and I’m sure you’d get something out of it.”

“Will I be able to read it? Is it in the human script?” He asked her surprised.

She paused at his comment and said, “Actually I forgot you’re still learning, but I could always use it for a lesson if you want.” He shrugged and did not refuse or agree with the idea. She continued, “But yeah, besides that I’ve cleaned up his kitchen, scrubbed the floor and few dishes he uses. And I just got done with digging up his garden, but that was really the most strenuous jobs he had for me. It seems like he just wants a maid or something.” Callum grew a small smile at the thought of her in a maid outfit, and thought she would look positively adorable. After the thought passed through his mind he asked how much longer it would be before they were paid off and when they could leave. She squinted at his question and said, “I’m not sure actually. I’ll probably have to do a bit more work for him until we pay him back. But I think we should be okay after tomorrow or the day after.” She looked at him caringly and said, “Do you think you’d be okay for another night here or do you want to head back to camp?”

He blew air as he thought and said, “I don’t know. The bed’s really nice, and so was breakfast – or lunch I guess, maybe brunch? – anyway…” He shook his head as he came back to the subject, “You don’t think we’d have a problem if we spend one more night?”

She put her hands on her hips and said lightheartedly, “Well I’m asking you. You’ll be the one hiding the whole time. He’s respected our privacy aside from those nosey questions last night, but I think he was just trying to be friendly.” She paused and asked him, “You think you’ll be okay?”

He blew air one more time and grabbed his injured finger. The throbbing had subsided to a rhythmic pulsing that matched his heart beat. It still hurt but he did not share this with her. He weighed their options and risks. He didn’t think they’d have too much of a problem with Aubrey, at most he could simply be nosey again but he seemed too polite to do something like that. Besides that he would have to hide away in their room the entire time, but even if he was bored their cover story would dilute any suspicions. He finally said, “I think we’ll be fine another night.”

“You sure?” She brought her hands together and said anxiously, “We can go back to camp if you want to get out of your disguise.”

He reassured her and said, “No. I’ll manage, especially if it means another night in a bed with breakfast.”

She chuckled and went to tussle his hair as she said, “Well don’t get too used to it. I still have to take you to see the Earth-Bloods. We’ll be back on the road by tomorrow or the day after.”

“That’s great.” He said pleased, “We can get directions before we leave too.”

She shrugged him off, “Yeah we will, but all we really need to do is go east and a bit north. There’s no way we could miss it.” Callum look at her exasperated but didn’t say anything further to the point. He figured with his disguise he could always ask someone for directions himself if he wanted to. He tapped his hands on the bed and changed the subject. He said wishfully to her,

“So…Are you free for the rest of the day?”

She said disappointed, “No, not yet. He still needs me to deliver some of his orders to the village, but I should be free after that.”

He made a small whine and said, “When do you have to go?”

“Probably soon. I was just going to head back down to him so he doesn’t bother us up here. But I have something for you before I go.” She grabbed the small bag she brought with her and rummaged through it, “I know we left your sketchbook at camp but I was able to grab some paper for you. I figured you’d want to do that at least while you’re cooped up here.” She produced some paper and a piece of writing charcoal and handed them to him. He thanked her and asked if she was sure she didn’t have more time before she had to leave. She said that she was, but before she left she pecked him on the cheek. She got up and before she left and said, “Stay out of trouble, and maybe have your cloak and horns ready in case he comes bothering you.” Callum said he would and then she left the room.

He looked down at the paper she left him. It was basic quality and the charcoal did not seem burned all the way through but he thought everything would be usable. He laid the paper over the bed and lied down in front of it as he thought about what to draw. He considered drawing Rayla but he knew he already had pages of her in his book so he wanted to do something different. He thought of drawing his dream from last night, but that made his face feel hot at the idea. At any rate, he thought the most he could draw from it would be Rayla surrounded by shadow and obscurity, which he honestly did not know how to go about drawing. He thought about drawing himself casting Fulminis, but he was reminded of a forest fire he started by accident when he tried to light their campfire with the spell. He could cast the spell with power, but he had yet to master control of it, so he declined to draw himself. He considered Aubrey, his home, or even the Moon Tree; but none of them captured his immediate interest. After some deep thought he decided to try his hand at drawing the Dragon Queen. He had tried to draw her after he spoke to her in person but he felt his rendition of her was incomplete at best. He captured her size and perhaps part of her magnificence but he was unable to truly express her, ‘severance’ as he would have described it. He set his mind to the paper, and as he did he thought of his private audience he had with her not too long before he left the Storm Spire with Rayla.

* * *

Callum’s footsteps echoed gently through the mountain hall as he paced the floor outside of the Dragon Queen’s chamber. It was well over a week since their battle with Viren’s army, or “The Battle at the Spire” as he later learned it was called. Despite how little time had passed since he discovered Zym’s egg, Callum felt that he had experienced an entire lifetime since then. So many incredible things happened to him in that short time. He traveled to Xadia, fought in battle, learned primal magic, saved lives, his brother became king, he lost the man who loved him as a father, and he meet Rayla. All of these things weighed heavy in his heart for both good and bad, but he was only outside the Dragon Queen’s chamber for the last one.

The reception that they were together had been mixed to say the least. He wasn’t sure what he expected for the two of them, but he knew what he hoped for. He hoped that their union would at least be accepted among his friends and family, and thankfully it was. But they were each happy and supportive in their own way. After Ezran got over his initial shock he was thrilled for them, and he told Callum that he wondered how he could’ve missed the signs to begin with. Ezran also said that when he looked back on their interactions he thought there was a genuine attraction from the start. Callum thought that was absurd when he first heard it, but after he thought about it he agreed it was perhaps partially true, and he grew a large smile when that thought entered his head. His aunt was surprisingly supportive, and he thought that was thanks to her own elf-friend that, ‘couldn’t admit she was cute’ as she told him. Soren was the most surprising to him, Callum thought he was almost happier for him than he was. He also tried to be a ‘big brother’ for him, with all the horrible advice about girls and relationships that could go along with it. Every time Soren tried to talk to him about anything even remotely related to girls Callum felt butterflies in his stomach, and felt like he would vomit when Soren said something he almost agreed with. Unfortunately that was the end of their support, as the vast majority of opinions were either apathetic at best, or at worst openly against them.

The worst thing that happened was with a visiting Sky-Wing elf. Callum never found out who he was or under what motive he was visiting, but he was responsible for the most upsetting situation the two of them faced as a couple. Callum was outside practicing sky magic on an unoccupied walkway when the elf walked around the corner and saw him. The elf did not seem much older than him, and was at most only two or four years older. He had dark grey hair with streaks of gold and possessed a pair of wings with similar colors, and he had clear, child-like, sky-blue eyes. He wore regal clothing, but so did everyone who came to the Storm Spire that Callum saw, so it was no more distinctive than anyone else there. He also wore many pieces of gold jewelry which included bracelets, horn rings, and a tight collar necklace. While they were unadorned they had many intricate designs, and his markings mimicked the shape of a winding breeze across his cheeks. He was very surprised to see a human cast magic, and Callum only waved happily to him and asked if was looking for someone to practice with, or a ‘magic buddy’ as he said. At his offer the elf’s look of shock subsided to a peculiar grimace. Then he went up to him and without hesitation asked him bluntly how many Sky-Wing elves he had to sacrifice before he was able to cast magic freely like a real elf. Callum was of course shocked by his question and answered that he did no such thing, and that he learned to cast primal magic on his own. The elf did not believe him and persisted to accuse him of practicing dark magic, and was passionately angry with him. The elf threatened him, and he almost ended up fighting him if Rayla had not shown up to vouch for him at the right time. But he did not run off at the sight of her, quite the contrary. He demanded to hear from her under what pretense she assured his trustworthiness. She responded indignantly that he was the human that helped return the Dragon Prince, and said proudly that he was also her boyfriend and offered many other praises to him besides that. Callum blushed when he heard her speak so highly of him, but the Sky-Wing elf was unimpressed, and was disgusted at the notation of them as a couple. He said many horrible things about humans and dark mages, he said their relationship was unnatural, and also called Rayla a whore. He said nothing good could ever come from such a union, and after he and Rayla threw more such pleasantries at each other he left in huff, and neither of them ever saw him again after that interaction.

Elves were not the only ones to disapprove of them, but humans too. Most humans could not come up the Storm Spire, either because of the need of the spell to reach the top or because they were not allowed to ascend to the summit. On a few occasions him and Rayla went down to the fields below to interact with the humans camped there they were meet with disapproving stares from most humans if they so much as held hands. Callum was brave the first time it happened for Rayla at least. They were out walking and talked to each other softly when she seemed to tense up all of a sudden. She didn’t want to explain the reason why but Callum noticed she was hesitant to look towards his direction. When he looked behind himself he spied someone give them the stink eye. He returned the scowl back at them and the human left eye contact with him but still looked displeased. He told Rayla not to worry about it and they continued on their walk. That was unfortunately an all too common occurrence whenever they went down to the human camps, they tried their best to ignore them at first, but it became too overbearing. On the few occasions he went down the summit on his own he was never told directly that others disapproved of their relationship. But he could tell by their grimace whenever they saw him that they held mixed ideas about him. He ignored them every time that happened, but on one instance when he was alone to visit Ezran he overheard soldiers say bad things about him and Rayla, and what he heard threw him over the edge to the point where he confronted them.

The soldiers hadn’t noticed him, and were only talking about them when he happened to pass by. He went up to them and looked very angry but they seemed unimpressed even after they realized he was there. One of the soldiers was a man from Katolis and the other was a woman from Duren, and when he approached them the one from Duren looked at him and rudely asked what he wanted. At their rudeness Callum asked if they knew who he was, and she responded that he was the brother of King Ezran. The fact that they knew him did not help and he asked them with indignation why they were speaking so negatively about him and Rayla. The Duren soldier replied that they said nothing that was untrue, and the Katolis soldier was quiet but agreed with a nod. Callum overhead them call Rayla a temptress, spy, and a blood thirsty murderer, and that he was disloyal and possibly a traitor, so to him they were all obvious lies. He told them this and woman rebuked him very confidently. She said the man with her was present for King Harrow’s murder, and that the rumor was that Callum went off and wooed one of his assassins was true. She said he became prissy with the elves and their dragons, and accused him of betraying his own people for an elf-harlot. Callum was aghast at her accusations, and said he did nothing of the sorts. He told them how he was there to return the Dragon Prince and stop the pointless fighting and asked her why she was there. She said angrily that she was there so that the elves don’t send more dragons to burn their homes down, because an idiot pretender thought it was a good idea to start a war. She also accused the elves of being ungrateful for the humans’ assistance in their victory as they weren’t even aloud on the Storm Spire, which she referred to with contempt. She said that if she knew how close Viren was to victory she may have almost switched sides if she believed what he was doing would have helped anything. At her comment Callum asked her who sounded more like a traitor, then she grew angry and called him a slimy pig and looked like she was close to start fighting. Thankfully for him, Soren came just then and diffused the situation. He had heard most of the conversation and after he dismissed the two soldiers he talked with Callum as to what exactly happened. He told Soren about the troubles him and Rayla had whenever they came down to the human camps together and how he wanted to stand up for them. Soren congratulated him for doing so but told him to be more careful next time. Now that he knew about how frequent their problems were he told him he would make it known to Amaya and that they would make sure their soldiers keep their opinions to themselves. But even still, he managed to get a few glances from the soldiers whenever he and Rayla were out, both from Katolis and Duren. And when they couldn’t handle the glares, one of or both of them would let their hand fall limply from the other’s and try to avoid the gaze of however gave them a scowl. Eventually they found themselves going down to the fields less and less, and while neither of them wanted to talk about the subject openly it both upset them, and they felt that they were too easily bothered. Many of the elves on top of the Storm Spire were no better but thankfully that was the worst of their experiences, as most voices on the top seemed to air on the side of indifference with very few openly against their relationship. He thought that must have only been because of their accomplishments which the elves were more ready to acknowledge, but there were still a few who opposed them either directly or indirectly. The one that surprised him the most was Ibis.

Callum hadn’t told him outright that they were dating, but he and Rayla certainly didn’t hide it either. When he looked back on his initial reaction Callum thought he was an idiot not to notice he was against their relationship. The day after the battle he went to visit Ibis in hopes that he could teach him more spells in the sky arcanum that he didn’t have the time to learn before. When he brought up the subject to him Ibis was initially very pleased that he had an interest and almost promised on the spot that day to teach him. But before he said one way or the other Rayla interrupted them. She said she was looking for Callum and after they exchanged playful pleasantries and teases they kissed each other. Ibis was quite shocked after their blatant display of affection, and confusedly asked if they were together. Callum confirmed that they were and asked him if that was a problem. Ibis said that it was not, but he told him that while he was excited to teach him more of the sky arcanum he had an important duty elsewhere that day that couldn’t wait. He then made a rushed goodbye to them and flew off. Callum hadn’t initially thought his behavior was a sign he disliked their relationship, but after his refusal to teach him anything he was sure that it was the reason.

Ibis didn’t outright deny to teach him more magic but he certainly made it difficult for him. He avoided Callum and had to be hunted down to be even spoken to. Then when he was, he made constant excuses to keep himself from answering even the most basic of questions. But Callum was persistent as he was clever, and after pulling teeth he had Ibis agree to begin to teach him more spells. His teaching only consisted of archaic training practices that usual involved him doing essentially nothing for hours. If Rayla hadn’t brought up that he wasn’t learning anything he probably would have followed Ibis’s instructions blindly. He wondered why he wasn’t direct about his disapproval, Rayla said perhaps the reason was that he thought their relationship had the Dragon Queen’s blessing. Naturally once she brought up that subject Callum asked her if they did, but she told him that to her knowledge they did not. She also told him not to bring it up again, as she thought it was better to let people assume they did since it seemed to keep the less friendly people at bay. He didn’t bring it up with her again or anyone else but he couldn’t keep the thought out of his head. He didn’t think her blessing would mean anything for himself, at least back home in Katolis. But he knew it would mean a lot to Rayla and the elves in Xadia. At the idea of making their lives easier to deal with half of the population, which meant really making Rayla’s life easier, he became dead set on making Ibis’s assumption a reality. This lead him to the entrance of the Dragon Queen’s chamber, where he timidly built up the courage to ask her for an official blessing on their relationship.

The Dragon Queen had been terribly busy since her awakening. Messengers and envoys came almost endlessly, and offered gifts and blessings to her and the newly born Dragon Prince, who by a miracle had been safely returned to his rightful place on the throne. To get an audience with her alone was almost an impossibility. Thankful for Callum, today was a very slow day for visitors, and that left her free for the evening. He stood outside her open chamber in the dim light of the mountain hall, but this was not the first time he had approached her chamber without entering. He had waited outside it multiple times now, but he retreated every time he was unable to speak to her privately or couldn’t build up the courage to speak to her. But tonight he felt it would be the last chance he would ever have to ask her. He peered through the skylight in the hall up at the full moon, and he felt it bestow within him the strength to act for his love. He also felt it was thematically appropriate, and naturally thought of Rayla. She told him that she was excited to see the full Moon on top of the Storm Spire, and believed her close proximity to it would bestow her with something she never felt before. He had promised to spend the night with her at the highest summit to marvel at the moon, but he didn’t want to meet with her until he had good news to share.

He walked towards the gates with trepidation, even with his apparent divine blessing the Dragon Queen alone was still foreboding to him. The gates to her chamber were open wide but spared no welcome to him. They were left open every day to allow the parade of envoys to enter and exit endlessly, but now they served only to allow a stream of air in and out. He stopped just before the threshold and looked into the chamber unnoticed. The entrance sloped downward by steps into a large nesting area, and the walls towered high to accommodate for even the largest of dragons. At its apex a skylight allowed the moonlight to leak in, but there was a another source of light hidden within the chamber. So its ambient lighting appeared brighter than what just the full Moon could create, but it was still dim and permeated with a feeling of repose. Along its walls grew blossoming vines, and Callum thought its foliage looked similar to cypress. Their flowers appeared most like purple asters to him, and by the moonlight they were painted a dull glowing white.

From the walls he looked towards the center where the Dragon Queen laid with her son. She waived her muzzle up and down at him and he followed her movements as he frolicked in their nest. Callum watched as Zym jumped about and ruminated on his joy to be returned to his mother. He was so young, younger still for a dragon, and Callum knew he would probably never live to see him fully grown. He was destined to become very powerful, but Callum refused to believe he would ever become a violent or tyrannical ruler like Sol Regem or his father, if his father was as tyrannical as he was lead to believe. He admitted to Rayla that while he knew nothing about King Thunder’s rule in Xadia he could only know him as the subjugator of humans and murderer of his mother, so he still held him in great contempt. As he thought this he turned his gaze to the Dragon Queen and felt a large pit deepen into his stomach. He knew very little of her, only that her husband was King Thunder Avizandum. She was initially very pleased upon awakening to the sight of humans in her domain, but he thought that may have only been because of the return of her son. To his knowledge she had not asked for the audience of any humans during her many meetings, but she did not refuse them either. He heard very little of any negotiations regarding the war, but he heard enough from his aunt and Ezran to know that the fighting would stop. Or as they put it, “To establish a mandatory cease fire until further notice.”

He was just thankful that the Dragon Queen was not hell bent on revenge and bloodshed at the death of her husband, even though she sent assassins for Ezran and King Harrow, the return of her son seemed to soothe her. Callum wondered what drove her to order the assassinations, or if it was even her who ordered them, if all she wanted to do after she heard from them was to lie down and die. He studied her for a moment longer from the door as he wondered this. She played with her son but her movements were much slower compared to his, as she must have been worn out from their play. She looked content and very much at peace, if only tired from the duties of being a mother. In many ways he thought she was like many other humans he knew of back home, and he thought for a moment that she was like his own mother. Callum solidified himself with resolve, he would face her and ask for her blessing here and now. Even if she cursed instead of blessed them Callum knew nothing would keep him and Rayla apart. He stepped into the chamber but only just over the threshold, he warily knocked on the open door and its sound thundered through the chamber. The Dragon Queen looked up from her son in surprise, and he stopped as well when she turned to look towards the open door where Callum stood. He felt anxiety at both their eyes being suddenly on him after he broke the tranquility of the scene. He forced a smile and said nervously to them, “Um, hi…Uh, knock-knock.” He laughed nervously and continued, “Hello Queen of Dragons! It’s me, Callum! Do you have a minute?” He gestured to himself and then to her as waited for a response.

She did not speak immediately and only stared at him as he stood in the doorway. He saw her blink her large eyes and then asked, “What do you mean by, ‘knock, knock?’”

Callum fidgeted and began to walk into the chamber as he spoke, “O! It’s a human thing, actually. You see it’s kind of this weird type of joke where we’ll knock on a door – I mean we really pretend to knock on a door – that’s why we say, ‘knock-knock.’” He stumbled on the stairs as he spoke but did not fall down. He continued to walk to their nest and speak, “But that’s beside the point. I mean why would I just meet with you to explain a knock-knock joke. That’d be just stupid – crazy even!” He forced a chuckle as he made it just before their nest and rubbed the side of his arm. He looked down at Zym and waved hello to him. He waved back with his front paw but did nothing else except look at him confused. Callum looked back up to the Dragon Queen and said, “So, Queen Zubeia. You’re looking awfully radiant tonight!”

The Dragon Queen’s expression changed at his comment. When he first made himself known in her chamber she only looked at him with confusion. But she knew flattery when she heard it, and after she heard his attempt, her demeanor changed to one serious, and impatient. She said coolly but not insultingly to him, “Why are you here?”

At her tone and direct manner of speaking Callum was unable to answer her. He stumbled with his words for a moment and tried to say why he was there but only managed to mumble out nonsense. All while he spoke the Dragon Queen continued to look at him with impatience and annoyance and he felt for a moment that he wouldn’t be able to speak to her. Yet just when he was sure he made a mistake in coming, he felt something courageous resurge within him, from where he was unsure, and he was able to collect himself and said graciously, “Your Majesty, Queen Zubeia.” He bowed low with his hands folded, and said in the most prestigious manner his father had taught him, “Oh Great and Powerful Queen of all Dragons in Xadia, who’s domain is over the Sky and Storm. Wife of the late King Thunder Avizandum, Mother to Prince Azymondias, and Lady of the Storm Spire. I Callum, Prince of Katolis, humbly stand before you tonight to ask for your favor in my union with Rayla of the Silvergrove.”

He was silent a moment as he waited for a response, yet none came from her. When the silence became unbearable, he warily looked up and witnessed her. She towered over him, but seemed to have grown in immensity from when he first entered the room. Her demeanor had changed yet again, she was not angry or even annoyed at his presence, but stared at him thoughtfully with deep eyes. He was able to catch a glimpse of them: grey storm clouds, with streaks of azure. They peered through him effortlessly as if he was nothing more than wind on the mountain. As he stared into them he felt a sense of incredible grandeur, and he himself felt a sense of inferiority overtake him. He expected to be disregard by her, that she would not even admit to his presence, and that he would only have himself to be ushered out. Dejected and humiliated by an unfathomable being, too far beyond his comprehension to even care for so meager a request. Yet she did not reject him, and spoke slightly surprised, “Such a long title. I had no idea I was known as that among humans.”

He was caught off-guard by her demeanor, and assumed she must have missed his request in the midst of her surprise. He didn’t want to lie and make her think she was favored by humans when she most certainly wasn’t, but he also didn’t want to ruin his chances for him and Rayla. The titles were his own creation which he had practiced multiple times in preparation for meeting her and he decided to tell the truth but stumbled with his words again as he spoke, “Well… No. You aren’t… Not really anyway… I was just being polite.”

The Dragon Queen’s posture tightened when he finished his statement. Her face grew serious again and she spoke, “If you want to be polite, simply call me what I am. Too many fools come to talk to me like that, asking for one thing or another. But dragons are not so verbose to use meaningless titles. Simply the ‘Dragon Queen’ will do.”

Callum understood her annoyance, and felt that he was an idiot to come to her as he did, since she was already unimpressed by his complement. His only intention with the long titles was politeness, but in retrospect he thought he looked very unctuous to her. He stumbled with his words as he tried to better the situation, “I-of course! Sorry your majes- I was just… I just wanted-” He was nervous as he tried to find his words and felt her gaze on him to be unbearable. He lowered his head and said entreatingly, “I just wanted you to give me and Rayla your blessing!”

The room was silent a moment after he gave his request, which was only broken by the Dragon Queen as she exhaled slowly through her nostrils. The sound of it echoed through the chamber, but it was soft and delicate like an evening’s breeze. She spoke more to herself than to him as she said, “Is that what you’ve come for?”

He looked up to her and saw her eyes as they pondered something deeply. “Yes, Dragon Queen Zubeia. Please.” He folded his hands and said pleadingly to her.

She exhaled through her nostrils again and said as one who weighed great options, “So. A human has come to me for my blessing. Yet his father is responsible for the death of my mate, and the egg-snatching of my son.” She lowered her head to Zym and looked at him. She continued and spoke to herself, “Why would I offer my blessing to someone who’s family has caused mine so much pain?” There was no joy in her eyes as she looked at her son, far too many things occupied her mind.

Callum spoke up again. He was still nervous, but said with resolve, “Yes, my father killed your husband, and was the reason Zym was lost in the first place. But _I_ didn’t, and _I_ wasn’t. And Rayla and I brought Zym back. Doesn’t that count for anything? Doesn’t that show that the two of us are good?” Zym reached up to touch her snout and chirped playfully to her as he spoke, yet she was not amused.

She spoke gravely, “That you two helped to return my son home is good, yes. But that does not undo every wrong.” When she finished, the Dragon Prince let out a soft moan and grew a concerned look on his face. His mother meet his eyes and seemed to tell him something between their hearts, but he was confused by what she told him and did not understand.

Callum did not know exactly what Zym felt, or what if anything his mother told him, but he was sure that he would agree with him based on the confused look on his face. Callum was bewildered by what other wrongs there could be that he would be able to make right, or that he was even responsible for. He could accept that the murder of the Dragon King was wrong, even if he did not feel sorry for it. But he thought he made it clear to her that he had no part in it, and was frustrated by how it was held against him. He felt that the Dragon Queen was unreasonably ungrateful for what he did for her and said, “I didn’t _have to_ bring him back you know. I could have easily let Zym stay in the dungeon and die. And I didn’t even need to come all this way. I could have just handed him off to Rayla and been done with him, but I came and brought him back because _I_ wanted too. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” He felt himself get frustrated as he finished speaking but regretted the way he spoke in less than a second.

After she heard him finish, the Dragon Queen immediately turned to him and grew a fierce look of hatred in her eyes. Callum stepped back at the sight of her and felt fear over take him as he regretted what he said. He wondered for a moment if there would be anything left of himself after she was done with him. Thankfully the Dragon Queen had no intention of killing him, but she said with deep scorn, “And you think that your choice not to sacrifice him makes you noble? That by coming with him makes you entitled to an award?” She sighed, but it sounded like a low growl. Then her manner changed as she looked away from him and said disheartened, “Why am I disappointed that a human would think this?”

Callum feared for his life in the instant when she looked at him with hatred, but when he heard her speak he could tell she was only upset because she misinterpreted him. If he was in a more rationale mind set he may have tried to soothe and ease her mind by stating that humans are no worse or better than elves and dragons. But in this moment he only desired to prove himself to her and secure for Rayla and himself what should rightfully be theirs. Perhaps he was angered by her condemnation of humans, or because he was beginning to see King Thunder in her, or simply because he was taught his whole life to hate and fear dragons because of how they believed that they were superior to humans. Regardless of the reason, his fear left him and he responded with equal parts vindication and indignation, “I didn’t bring him home for an award. I brought him home because it was the right thing to do! Because me and Rayla wanted to stop this pointless fighting! Aren’t you grateful at all for this!?”

“I am grateful!” She said vehemently, and her voice echoed throughout the chamber, “I am **beyond** grateful. I was brought back from the brink of death and despair by his return. But I won’t think lightly of giving you want you ask.”

“Why not!? What’s there to think about!?” He practically yelled out his response, but it was more to himself than to her. He continued to talk to himself, “We brought him home to you. So I want you to give your blessing to me and Rayla. So we can go out together and not get the stink eye from more people!”

After he finished his small outburst the Dragon Queen gave him a side glance and said dubiously, “I thought another one also brought my son home? Your brother, the King Ezran? Why aren’t you asking for a blessing for him too?”

He was caught off guard at her mention of his brother. Of course he was only here to secure some ease for him and Rayla, but Ezran had been an incredible help to bring home Zym, and he doubt he would have been able to do it without him. He said truthfully, “You should bless him, if you haven’t already. But I am here for me and Rayla _together_.”

“Together?” She said amused and let out a single laugh before she continued, “If you are here together, then where is she? Why is she not here with you?”

“She…doesn’t know I’m here.” He was hesitant to tell the Dragon Queen that Rayla was against asking for her blessing, but thought a partial truth would not harm his chances. He worried for a moment about what he would tell her if they received a curse on their relationship instead of a blessing, and if she would forgive him for doing this without telling her. He regained his resolve and continued, “But it’ll help us and it doesn’t cost you anything to give. And it’ll be the easiest way for you to repay us for returning your son.”

She exhaled through her nostrils in a small laugh and said haughty, “All that you did when you brought back my son, was right part of a wrong that never should have happened to begin with. So I fail to see how that indebts me to you.”

Callum felt that she didn’t understand what they went through to bring Zym back home, least of all what Rayla went through. “But you don’t understand. We lost so much just to bring him home. Just Rayla had to-”

The Dragon Queen interrupted him and said, “Yes, I know all about the deserter and her family. And I’ve heard others say that exile is too light of a punishment for her. Even as young as she is.” She ended sorrowfully and seemed to ponder on something. Callum thought it was more than likely to be Rayla’s fate after her actions. He was beyond perplexed by how she could even consider that she should be punished further after helping to return her son. It appeared to him that she believed Rayla was cowardly and traitorous, when she was nothing of the sorts. He felt very angered both by this and by the Dragon Queen calling her a ‘deserter,’ so he stomped his foot and said with great contempt,

“She is not a deserter! Any more than her parents are!” At his outburst and claim she was greatly surprised and pressed him to explain what he meant. He stepped forward and spoke proudly, “Queen Zubeia, whoever told you that Rayla’s parents abandoned Zym was lying. And I can prove it!”

She replied with skeptic curiosity, “You can?” and said nothing more as she waited for him to speak.

He continued, “Yes, I can. I saw for myself the night before the battle. I casted ‘Historia Viventem’ right here and saw her parents defend Zym until the end.”

At his bold statement she lowered her head to look at him in the eye and said, “Can you recast this spell for me now?”

When he peered into those large eyes up close he was intimidated, and also embarrassed, since he was not able to recast the spell without a moon-opal he would only have his word to give her. He began to say uncomfortably, “Well, no. I don’t really know how to cast any spells in the Moon Arcanum. Not yet anyway. You don’t happen to have a moon-opal nearby I could use, do you?” He ended optimistically.

After he finished she lifted her head back up and relaxed. She said, “I do not. Most dragons I know of do not keep worldly possessions. Even though many leaders would throw them at me I see no point in hanging onto them.” Callum was greatly surprised to hear that dragons did not hoard treasures. In all of the old tales he’s heard or read of dragon dens always held unobtainable wealth, and he even heard rumors that his father carried back treasure after he slayed the Dragon King. As he thought on this he came to realize that the ‘treasure’ may have been something else entirely from what he initially thought. He wondered if the original treasure the old tales spoke of could also have been related to similar matters, as dragons had always been coveted by dark mages. He was interrupted from his thoughts when the Dragon Queen continued, “But I have doubts for your claim, and concerns that you would lie to me. I have already seen a mage cast such a spell before me and saw with my own eyes that the two deserters ran and left my egg defenseless.”

To say he was surprised by what the Dragon Queen said would have been an understatement. He hadn’t even considered that someone else would’ve tried that spell before, if only because it would have shown that Rayla’s parents were innocent. He originally thought that perhaps the spell was lost to Xadia long ago after the segregation, which is why after her parents’ disappearance no one challenged that they were deserters. When he considered that he learned it from Lujanne and that she was the sole protector of the Moon Nexus, which was isolated from the rest of Xadia, it made plausible sense to him. To hear that at least someone else knew it or a similar spell and casted it there made him instantly believe that whoever casted it was lying. “That’s impossible.” Was all he said, with anger seeping into his voice.

When she heard him speak and saw the anger in his eyes he could not hide she questioned him with great intent and lowered herself again to meet his eyes with her own. She said, “Would you swear to me that what you told me is what you saw that night?”

The first time he meet her eyes he was rightfully intimidated, as he was now. Yet he was emboldened by anger that someone would lie about Rayla’s family and by his great desire to redeem her family. He said with great severity, “Yes. On mine and Rayla’s honor, it is what I saw.”

At his response she was slightly taken aback. She was pleased to hear him speak so fervently but still felt a suspicion on his part. She relaxed and left his gaze as she said, “You said you casted the spell with a moon-opal?” Callum replied that he did, and she continued, “And where did you get it? It’s strange for a human to keep such a thing.”

He replied, “Rayla gave it to me, right before she decided she wanted to stay here and fight Viren’s army and…she told me to leave.” He found himself clutching at his scarf where the moon-opal laid before he broke it, and struggled to choke back tears, “At the time we were sure if she stayed she would die but she still wanted to, out of pride and wanting to right the wrong she thought her parents made.” He wiped his sleeve over his face briefly as he spoke, “I had to see for myself whether or not it was true, and I remembered the spell from Lujanne at the Moon Nexus. So I broke the last thing she gave me to try to understand what she felt and…then I saw what really happened.” The entire time he spoke he looked down and away from the Dragon Queen, and spoke more to himself than to her. After he was done his story he looked up and said with great earnest, “Dragon Queen Zubeia, I don’t know what you saw and who showed you, but I am telling you her parents were loyal until the end of their lives. And I swear it on my life.”

The Dragon Queen had a look of deep contemplation on her face after she heard him. She responded warily, “I do not know the Moon arcanum well. That was the domain of my mate’s predecessor, Luna Tenebris, and it is very mysterious to me. But I have heard that such a spell casted by a mage could be manipulated, either by purpose or by heart. I don’t believe you lied to me about what you saw, but I know you care deeply for your friend. Are you sure you did not lie to her and yourself and see what you wanted to believe?”

Callum was hard pressed to answer her question. When she said that it could be manipulated by someone purposefully to show what they wanted he immediately thought the mage who casted it must have lied. Yet he also knew that he could have been the liar just the same. He was still uninitiated to the Moon Arcanum, but from what little he knew of it he understood that it was laid heavy with desire and emotion. If he said that when he casted the spell that night that he was not clouded by emotion and desire he would certainly be lying. He spoke truthfully but regretfully, “Honestly, no. I can’t say that what I saw couldn’t be what I wanted to see, because it was. But I know Rayla is honest, proud, and fearless. There is no way her parents wouldn’t be likewise.” He ended boldly and waited for her response.

She pondered on what he told her and after a moment she responded, “I am astounded by the way in which you speak so highly of your friend. And I tell you today that I shall seek another mage to cast that spell before me again, as difficult as it will be to find someone.” She sighed again before she continued, “Yet, even if her parents were to be proved without a doubt to be innocent that does not change the actions she herself made, so that must be remembered.”

When he heard what he felt was a half-hearted offer by the Dragon Queen to reinvestigate her parents, and another accusation on Rayla’s ‘desertion’ he was at an end. He spoke up with great contempt, “So she should be punished for bringing your son home and sparing an innocent life!? A life that helped to bring Zym home!?”

“No.” She said quickly and turned to face him, “But as noble as she was to return my son, her disobedience must not be forgotten. It certainly won’t be by her own people.” She ended growing contemptuous herself.

Callum felt his eyes glaze over in anger and his face turn emotionless after he heard her. Even as powerful as she seemed, she still succumbed to the pressure of other rulers and their stubborn ways. He said mockingly, “That’s it then? Because she disobeyed orders she’s less of a person, less than a human? Even if that human and her brought back your son?”

“ ** _I did not say that!_** ” She turned to him and spoke sternly. Even if she did not yell, Callum could feel the weight of her voice echo through the chamber like thunder, and he felt it clash around and within himself. Zym cowered at his mother’s voice and clung to her as he sought refuge. Even though Callum was still angry, he felt very meek and powerless before her and recoiled. After the echo of her voice died she continued, “I said that all of what she’s done and who she is must be remembered before I decide. Same as for you.” She stuck up her nose at him as she ended, and seemed to say that she was at least partially displeased with him by his words.

There was silence between them for a moment as they stared at each other. He considered leaving the chamber, to turn around, walk out the door, and never bring up the subject with her or Rayla ever again. Certainly if the Dragon Queen felt she was unindebted to those who sacrificed so much for her family. Yet he knew how much her blessing would mean for Rayla, and to all the elves of Xadia. So he still wanted it, even if at this moment he did not believe her blessing would be worth anything. He said austere, “So what’s your decision?”

She breathed deeply and sighed at his question, and he held his breathe as he waited for her response. She turned to look at her son again and brought her head within his reach. He chirped to her again and lovingly pressed his paw on her. The sullen look on her face was unchanged as she thought heavily on the matter, and gently rose her head up and down as she looked at Zym. She breathed very deeply for a the last time and as she exhaled she seemed to whisper, but it was heard clearly throughout the entire chamber. She said defiantly, “No.”

Even though he heard the words himself, he was dumbfounded. He had feared and even expected her to refuse to bless their union before he came to her. But to stand before her in person and hear her say it so clearly; Callum was unprepared for this. He stuttered once more and asked her heart-broken unable to say anything else, “N-no?” He worried what this would mean for him and Rayla. Before they could have let people assumed they possessed the Dragon Queen’s favor and gain some sense of peace from that, but now that she gave her refusal what would that mean for them? How would he be able to meet her on at the summit and tell her he ruined any possibility of people accepting them together in Xadia? Would she berate him for his foolishness, would she forgive him but be heartbroken? He was more concerned for the later but everything weighed heavy within him for the moment. Yet it was all shattered when he heard the Dragon Queen speak again.

“No.” She fixed her posture and wings as she spoke in a manner that seemed to renounce something, which confused him as he turned his head back up to look at her. She continued, “The sins of your father have already been repaid. You have seen to part of that yourself. And if wasn’t for you and your friend I would never have seen my son again.” She looked to Zym once more and smiled fondly to him before she finished, “You and Rayla may have my blessing. For all that it is worth to you I name you both my friends. You will always be welcome here!”

Callum was relieved beyond measure and thanked her profusely but after only a second of thinking about what she said he stopped. He noticed she only blessed them individually and not together as he thought he asked her to. He thought she didn’t understand what he actually ask her for and said reluctantly, “Thank you Dragon Queen, thank you. I will treasure your blessing forever…But… that’s not – I don’t think you understood what I was asking for.”

The Dragon Queen was slightly surprised by his statement. She pricked up her brow and said curiously, “Oh?” Then paused and expected him to elaborate.

He continued, “Well…Your friendship is great! But I meant to ask for your blessing for me and Rayla together!”

“Together?” She asked confused.

“Yes! Together as…two people who love each other!” He was a bit awkward as he tried to find the words to use for him and Rayla. He knew he definitely loved her, but he wasn’t sure what they were or would be for each other. Would they be married eventually? Should they be married now? Should the Dragon Queen be the one to do that? Were they too young for that sort of thing? All these thoughts passed through his mind as he stood before her in trepidation that her blessing from a moment ago would be recanted, and dreaded that she herself would call their union ‘unnatural.’

Yet the Dragon Queen did no such thing. She seemed to understand what he meant by his words, and replied in affirmation with a simple, “Ah.” As she nodded her head up and down. She continued, “You two have chosen each other as a mate.”

He felt himself get a bit red in the face at her comment and said awkwardly to her, “Well…Yeah – I mean, that’s the end goal. Yes. But not yet! We’re still…courting!” He was thankful he knew that term from his father, if only because he wasn’t sure that the Dragon Queen knew what the term, ‘dating’ meant.

He did not say anything further and waited for her to speak. She nodded her head again and looked off and away from him as she seemed to think on the matter further. He was still beyond nervous as he waited for her response and felt a hurricane in his stomach. Eventually after a brief moment she said somewhat reserved, “I do not know much of the way in which either of your kinds decides for a mate. But if that is what you wish, then very well. You and Rayla have my blessing to be united in life whenever you choose to be so. May you two live longly together.” As simple as that, and it was done. He was practically over the moon, and thought about repainting his arms in a hurry so he could carry Rayla over it to celebrate. He thanked her again and again but before he even began to leave the Dragon Queen spoke, “But do not be so quick to leave. I have questions you must answer.” He was surprised by her statement and when he looked at her face he saw that she had mild concern.

“Of course…What questions?” He was slightly concerned himself and more or less guessed what the nature of her questions would be. But since she decided to give them her blessing he felt he owed it to her to answer them, however uncomfortable they may be.

She began to say somewhat awkwardly, “Well, where do you plan to nest?”

He was surprised by her question, and half thought it was invitation to ‘nest’ nearby her. He replied, “I don’t know. She can always come live with me in Katolis. But we haven’t really talked about it yet.”

She responded, “Do you think she would want to? Or that she’d be happy there?” Callum hadn’t put much thought into where they would go once everyone began to leave the Storm Spire. He entertained the idea that Rayla would come home with him and Ezran to the castle. But he hadn’t asked her whether she wanted to head back to the Silvergrove to her uncle, or if she even could. She hadn’t brought up the subject either, and he saw no reason to when their past weeks together had been so incredible, even with the few upsetting situations.

He didn’t know what else to responded to the Dragon Queen so he said, “I mean, yes. Why wouldn’t she?” They had only briefly brought up the subject previously and came to the conclusion that as long as they were together, they would be happy. Whether that meant living among elves or humans, he was unsure of, but it didn’t matter to him.

The Dragon Queen slowly blinked her tired eyes before she said, “Her home is very different from yours. And even if she was happy there, or could accept it, would your people accept her?”

Callum stopped at her question and thought for a brief moment. He did have concerns that she would get homesick in Katolis for the Silvergrove, but he thought of fun ways to cheer her up if she did. He planned on getting a plant or two from the Silvergrove to keep in the castle, taking long moonlit walks on the grounds together, smuggling some adoraburrs to keep as pets, and even learning how to make moon-berry surprise if Rayla would tell him what’s in it. But he had not thought about what life would be like for her as an elf among humans. He thought that at the worst everyone in the castle might be surprised that an elf was there, but he knew the guards were loyal and obedient, so there would be no danger for her. But he wondered about what would happen outside of the castle. Viren’s army was defeated, but he knew he still had some supporters back home for his views, and even if people didn’t outright support him, Callum didn’t think they’d support elves invading on their land, even if it was only one. He thought back to their encounter in Caldera, and his interaction with the woman from Duren, and worried that there might be an angry mob outside their castle one day, especially if they found out Rayla was supposed to assassin king Harrow. He pushed that thought to the side, as he knew she could take care of herself, even if at the worst he couldn’t help her. He replied, “She’ll be safe. I know that, even without me. But…Do you think we should live here?” Since he thought perhaps she was inviting them to stay he saw no reason not to put the question to her.

She laughed lightly and said, “I don’t think you two would be comfortable living here.” He was surprised by her response and couldn’t help but look disappointed. She noticed his reaction and continued, “Don’t misunderstand me. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. And even if you did nothing else for me besides be honored guests, your lives are so brief compared to my own that you wouldn’t seem too overbearing. Most likely anyway.” She said the last part to herself and then paused briefly before she continued, “Of course I’d hope you would be more than just guests if you decided to live here. I know your mate’s family has a history here she may want to continue. But that… _possibility_ would be difficult to amend. At least for now.”

He was confused and asked her, “How would it be difficult? Hasn’t she already proven herself loyal to you and everyone here?”

She spoke passionately, “She has. Most certainly to me she has. However…” She breathed deeply and continued, “Until the honor of her parents is restored, assuming it _can_ be, she will face… _problems_ from the returning Dragon Guards.”

Callum sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes before he spoke, “But didn’t you just give her your blessing a second ago? And not just me and her as mates, but for just herself?” The Dragon Queen agreed that she did and he continued, “So shouldn’t that just clear things up? Shouldn’t the rest of the guards be okay with her if you are?”

“No. All that will do for her is make it so the Dragon Guards will respect her in my presence. But they will still hold their own convictions, which I am unable to change.”

He sighed again and said annoyed, “Alright. It’s political and people don’t want to let things go, even though it’s clear she’s on your good side. I get it.” He rubbed his face before he said confused, “Why did you even ask where we plan to live if you’re not suggesting anything?”

The Dragon Queen said dispassionately, “For precisely the reasons I said. If you two are to be mates and receive my blessing I want to be sure you’re taken care of. And more so I want to know how you plan to reconcile the differences between your own kinds.”

He slightly confused by her question, as he expected her blessing to resolve any problems they would have, at least as far as elves were concerned. He assumed she must have been referring to the natural differences between themselves and not between other people, so he replied simply, “Well I don’t know, we just will. You don’t think we’re going to be at each other’s throats all the time because I’m a human and she’s an elf do you?”

She laughed and said, “No. From what I know of both your kinds that would typically be strange for mates. I meant more so for how you plan to live with other people.”

At her clarification he replied, “I’m not sure.” And then began to pace the floor and think as he spoke, “It’s just, you’ve given me a lot to think about now. I mean I already thought about it before, but now you’re just making me second guess myself.” He sighed again in frustration before he turned to her and said, “Do you think I should live here with her? Not _here,_ but in Xadia?”

She looked at him with compassion and said, “You will find many hardships for yourself, and certainly for her, if you two are together here.” He was bemused by what she told him and asked what hardships she meant. She continued, “Well you must know by now that humans are not welcome in Xadia. At least no more than elves are welcome in the human lands. If they found you they may imprison or even kill you on sight, and not much better would happen to Rayla.”

He disregarded her and said, “Yes I know all about it. But shouldn’t your blessing help us out with that?”

The Dragon Queen blinked at his question and asked, “Do you expect every elf in Xadia to know about your blessing from virtue of it alone?”

He mentally kicked himself for not realizing the obvious and started to speak to himself somewhat embarrassed, “Right, they’re probably not going to take my word for it or even recognize me if they knew about it. Even if I cast magic as proof that doesn’t always work for everyone.” He paced the floor again as he thought and then said hopefully, “Could you maybe give me a medal, or a cloak, or even one of your scales to prove to them who I am?”

“I have nothing to give you besides my word that you have my blessing. Anyone who would care about it or who you are will know. Either by word of mouth or by other means, but I’ve found most elves do not possess the ability for the later.”

He was wondered what ‘other means’ could have meant, and assumed it must have been magical in nature. He was more confused by how the apparent queen of Xadia would offer no badge of proof, if only because he wondered how they would be able to prove it to others without seeing the Dragon Queen themselves. He made his concern known and said, “That’s good and all and no offense, but can’t you give us anything at all to prove we have your blessing? I mean you just said most people won’t know about it from just seeing us, but that’s really what we need. And shouldn’t the queen of all of Xadia have something to prove her blessing besides good faith alone?”

She spoke slowly and with deliberation, “I am not the queen of Xadia. I am the Queen of Dragons, and that is a title afforded to me by strength alone.”

He was shocked by what he heard and said, “But all those envoys? The royals and generals who came all this way just to see you?”

She interrupted him and said plainly, “Came to see me as one they revere, but I do not rule over them. I could lay their kingdoms to rubble and subjugate them, but I have no intention of doing so, even if I did, I have my son to worry for.” She ended warmly, and gently caressed her son who laid in her lap after she finished.

He brushed a hand through his hair at her words and continued, “Alright, I’m confused. If you don’t rule them then why are they trying so hard to please you? Are they afraid of you?” He ended tentatively but almost regretted his choice of words as they left his mouth.

The Dragon Queen was unoffended however, and continued, “Their exact reverence towards me is also one I don’t know in its entirety. You would be better to ask your mate for an explanation. All I understand is that while I don’t rule over them we have frequently shared a common enemy, and they revere my word but not without fail.”

He paced again after he heard her and started to speak but cut himself off to think more on what he wanted to say. Finally he said, “Okay. You aren’t their queen and you don’t have anything to give us as proof, but they care about what you think and will probably hear about us, so that should help us out at least.”

“And help you with what exactly?” She said anticipatingly, “You’ve alluded to something that you said my blessing would assist you in while we’ve spoken but what is it? Are you and your mate going on another quest? Should I offer my help to you further?”

He was delighted by the Dragon Queen’s concern for them, and felt that her demeanor had changed so quickly from a reserved monarch to a concerned mother. He laughed lightly and said, “No, no. We don’t plan on doing anything else. Rayla’s had enough fighting, and I’d definitely want to learn more primal magic if I can. But right now all we want to do is settle down and live together quietly. At least for right now.”

After he was done speaking the Dragon Queen grew a pained look on her face and he was confused by it. She said, “Was that the reason why you came to me so fervently? Did you feel your peace together was dependent on whether I gave you my blessing or not?”

He looked at her with a blank expression on his face and paused a brief moment before he said, “Uh, shouldn’t that have been obvious? I mean you’re blessing an elf and human to be together. Doesn’t that mean we can live without being afraid of what others think, at least of other elves?”

The Dragon Queen breathed deeply and said, “No, not entirely.” Callum was surprised by what she told him but before he could ask questions she continued and spoke to him as a mother would, “You are right to think that elves care for my word and who I bestow my blessing to. But the fact that you are a human with my blessing will mean nothing to them.” The Dragon Queen continued to speak but everything else she said after was lost to Callum. In a flash every bad thing that happened to him and Rayla passed through his mind, the rejection of others, the hateful stares, the cruel words aimed at them, and the unbridled disgust people had for them. It came to his mind all at once and overwhelmed him. He stepped back in shock to process what he heard from the Dragon Queen and how it meant it would still continue, and he covered his face in frustration as he let out a groan as a feeling of disappointment washed over him. She saw his pain and was surprised in the middle of speaking. She said impulsively, “Were you hoping my blessing would solve everything?”

He said frustrated, “I don’t know! Yes! I mean, isn’t that what your blessing is supposed to do? Won’t that make it so people have to accept us? Isn’t that why some people have just fucked off from us!?”

Zym’s ears pricked up at his outburst and he let out a small, confused chirp as he looked up to his mother. She was distracted though, and at his tone of voice and choice of words the Dragon Queen became stern and said, “If you treat it with such impudence, it most certainly will not. Were you planning on boasting to others in such language?”

He said guilty, “No. But maybe if something happened again I would.” He had fantasized about doing just that to the Sky-Wing elf who bothered them. He hadn’t seen him since the incident and had been avoiding any group of Sky-Wing elves he saw at the Spire just in case. But after the idea of the Dragon Queen’s blessing entered his head, he almost hoped to run into him again and rub it in his face.

She continued still stern, “Well don’t. My blessing is not something to use to hold yourself above others. I have chosen mine to be a title of honor and a sign of peace. You would undo all meaning I have placed into it to use it that way.”

He felt very embarrassed by her condemnation, even if she did not know the exact fantasy he held, and said apologetically, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to dishonor your blessing. I just want people to stop hating Rayla and me for loving each other.”

The Dragon Queen nodded and then said kindly, “You’ve already been harassed for your relationship with each other?”

He said reluctantly, “Yes. A Sky-Wing elf gave us a really hard time the other day. And people have been dismissive of us or give us really bad looks when we don’t hide that we’re together. Not just elves, but humans too, and I’m pretty sure I lost a teacher because of it.”

The Dragon Queen was intrigued by what teacher he was pursuing and asked him who it was. He told her it was Ibis, and she grew a small scowl on her face when she heard. She said, “Would you like me to order him to train you? He will certainly do so if I tell him.”

Callum was very surprised by her offer and out of appreciation said initially, “If you want to, sure.” After he thought on it a moment he corrected himself and said, “No, definitely don’t. Even if he agreed to train me I wouldn’t want to learn from someone who hates me for who I love.”

The Dragon Queen nodded and then said with pity, “I am upset that you two have found difficulty so shortly, but unfortunately I am unsurprised. An elf and a human together as mates, or mates to be in your case, is not something either of your kinds has positive feelings towards. Even as accomplished as you are.” He agreed with her sadly but did not say anything else as he was too disappointed to. She continued, “Were you expecting my blessing to change their hearts, or were you just hoping for them to leave you in peace out of fear of me?”

“The first one would be nice, but honestly I’d settle for them just leaving us alone. And shouldn’t your blessing still do that for us? I mean, yeah I’m a human and other humans won’t really care about your blessing, but would an elf really want to upset someone who has the Dragon Queen’s favor?”

She said, “I cannot control the will of everyone on the Spire. There will be those who hate you, and I can do nothing to prevent them. My blessing may encourage them to keep their opinions to themselves, but it will only be the illusion of peace.”

“Well, that’s a start. I guess.” He sighed and kicked his foot at the ground.

She added quickly, “But I can only see that happening where I have influence though, or in presence of others who greatly revere me. I doubt you will be welcomed as a human anywhere else in Xadia.”

“But don’t you think other elves would care if I was able to get your blessing as a human?” As he spoke Callum felt like he beginning to bargain with her, and he was almost confused by this.

She shrugged and replied, “Some might, perhaps. If they give you time to explain yourself and believe you. But I certainly don’t think they will accept you as mates. To them it is far too unnatural.”

At the word he was at an end. He groaned and said extremely frustrated, “I am _sick_ of being told our relationship is unnatural!”

She was once again confused by his outburst and said, “Well forgive me for saying the truth, but even if it’s not unnatural it certainly is unusual.”

He threw his hands to the air and said more to himself than to her, “It doesn’t _feel_ unnatural! It honestly feels like the most right thing I’ve ever done before. But it’s like we’re the only ones who think so, apart from our friends, and everyone else in the world is against us.”

She tried to console him and said, “That’s not true. I at least am not against you.”

“Yeah and what good is that? I mean…” He sniffled and said angry, “Is your blessing even worth anything?”

She replied insulted, “It most certainly is, and you would do well to remember it.”

“No, you just don’t get it.” He interrupted her and sat down on the floor, then cupped his face in his hands as he said extremely discouraged, “When we first walked up this mountain we joked about how others wouldn’t accept us, and it seemed like it wouldn’t be that big of a problem. But we’ve only been dealing with it for a week and I’ve had it!” His exclamation ended in a shout, and while is nowhere near as loud as the Dragon Queen it grabbed her attention as easily. He continued, “For the past week we’ve been here we’ve gotten nothing but bad words and side glances thrown at us. And for some reason some people are against us but hesitate to say it. Rayla thought maybe it was because they thought we already had your blessing. But now you’re telling me that your blessing shouldn’t even do that. So why are they leaving us alone? Is it because of what we’ve done together? And if it is, is that just not good enough for people? Are we constantly going to have to prove to everyone why we should be allowed to be together, and work harder on that than anyone else would?” He groaned again and shed a few tears, then continued, “I only came to ask you for your blessing because I wanted to make it so she wouldn’t have such a hard time with elves like I do with humans. But it sounds like she’s still going to have to deal with it anyways, like how I’ll have to deal with a sword in my gut if I live here with her without a mask over my face!” He let out a bitter laugh and said, “And I’m still thinking about sneaking her back home with me and hiding an elf in the half of the world that hates them!” He paused for a second as he choked on his words and then continued sadly, “I don’t want her to have to hide who she is, and I don’t really want to hide either. But I want to do what I have to for her, even though it seems like if we want to be together it’ll never get to be as who we really are.”

She waited a second after he was done his rant, and as he finished she thought she heard him quietly cry into his hands. She lowered herself to his level and looked at him until he removed his hands from his face. She looked into his eyes and said with compassion, “I am sorry. Truly. I do not understand entirely what you and your mate are going through, but I want to help if I can. As I have said, my blessing is not something I give out lightly. Many rulers and warriors have come to ask it from me over these past few days alone. Many I have declined, some I have considered, and even fewer I have decided to bestow. Please do not despair when my gift has not remedied what ails the two of you, at least not in entirety.”

He wiped the tears from his face and felt he was bargaining again as he said, “So…It has to be worth something then, at least for Rayla? It’ll _have_ to do something for her, right? Otherwise why would so many people have wanted it?”

She replied softly, “Yes, I promise you it won’t be without meaning. I am sorry I do not have the power to change the hearts of others. If I did, many things in the world I would not have let happen. But my blessing is not without influence. I only urge you both to be cautious with it, knowing my mate’s convictions with your kind and the convictions of many others in the world. I cannot believe it will be of much use to yourself as a human or you two as mates, but Rayla shall be respected from my blessing to her, and that respect it not without power. And I shall do whatever I can to ensure Xadia knows of my blessing I have placed over your union. But do not expect others to know of you from face alone, or count on it to save you. If they do know of it, they shall think twice about harming you, if only out of fear of my wrath, even though I loathe to exercise it. So you will have some safety from it, but it will not be enough to live openly, as then you will most certainly be scorned and maybe worse.”

He tried to collect himself and said, “So that’s it then? It might help us out in a pinch and maybe a few people will be okay with us, but don’t plan on shouting out everything to the world?” She replied that what he said was correct. He was disappointed at the idea that he couldn’t yell out his love for Rayla to the world, but he felt a bit better by what she told him. A thought entered his mind and he asked, “You said Rayla will be respected. Does that mean she can go back to the Silvergrove if she wanted to?”

She paused and thought about something to herself for a moment before she said, “I do not know. My influence is great but the rulers of Artemia are very strict with law. At the very least she shall be welcome anywhere else in Xadia.”

Callum had a thought enter into his mind at her words and said hopefully but also disappointedly, “So if we ever decide we don’t want to be together she’ll have a pretty comfortable life then, right?”

She was surprised by his words and replied, “If by comfortable you mean well respected, then yes. But are you suggesting you may not want to be mates?”

He tried to find the best way to say what he thought and then said, “No, I’m not. I want to be with her more than anything. I just…like to know that she would be okay without me.” The Dragon Queen did not say anything but nodded slowly and seemed to reflect on something in her own life. Something else still bothered him, and he asked, “If your blessing is worth so much to others, why did you give it to us?”

She smiled and said, “I believe I was already clear from our conversation earlier. There was much to consider for both of you but I am certain of your worthiness. For the delivering of my son, and your prowess in heart as well as strength. Which my son has already attested to many times over.”

He said in surprise, “You son has talked to you about us?”

She laughed lightly and said, “Oh yes. Almost endlessly, everything he talks about is either you, Rayla, or more often your bother King Ezran. Who has proven himself very wise, and a great listener of the heart, more so than any human or elf I’ve ever known. And he’s says your mate is brave and heroic almost more than you do, and he has told much of your great accomplishments in magic. You’re the only human I’ve heard of to master an arcanum, and what is more is that he’s told me you have remained clean of the taint of dark magic.”

He grew a worried look on his face at her last comment and only said, “He has?”

Thankfully she did not notice his worry and continued in the same manner as before, “Yes he has. He told me much about your exploits at the defense of our home, and your mastery of the Sky arcanum so quickly is remarkable and I am pleased by your connection to it. But naturally I can understand your affinity for it…” She continued to speak proudly of her native arcanum but Callum ignored her as she spoke. His eyes meet Zym’s as he huddle within his mother’s embrace, and Zym looked at him with an expression of intense earnest. Callum immediately understood that he lied to her for his benefit, and in that briefest of moments he felt exactly as he imagined Ezran did when he talked to animals and understood them. He then tried the hardest he ever had to communicate to Zym how thankful he was that he did. He almost mouthed the words, ‘thank you’ to him but worried that the Dragon Queen would have noticed if he did. Even if he was not able to talk to him like Ezran could, he hoped Zym could tell at least from the look in his eyes that he was thankful to him. He was brought back to the attention of the Dragon Queen as she said bombastically, “…and your mastery of flight! And so dramatically as well. My son has told me so many times about your daring rescue of your mate. How did you manage to master what I’ve been told is such a difficult spell so quickly?”

At mention of mage-wings he became slightly embarrassed and said, “I uh, haven’t mastered it yet, and actually I haven’t flown since that day.” His difficulty with the spell had been a source of great discouragement for him. After he had successfully casted it to save Rayla he was certain he mastered it, but it was only the day after that he tried again and was unable to produce wings. When he was unable to he became very frustrated as he didn’t understand why they did not come as they had before. Then an idea came him as he sat before the Dragon Queen and he said hopefully, “If you wouldn’t mind, your majesty. Do you think you could give me a lesson or two about the Sky arcanum?” It only made sense to him, as he thought no one else would be a better teacher in the Sky arcanum than her.

She replied honestly, “I would not mind at all. But I’m afraid I would not be a very good teacher. You’re not the first person I’ve ever heard of to go to a dragon for knowledge but we are connected to the arcanum differently than humans, and even elves too. Elves have a weaker connection to the arcanum than us but through study can gain a greater degree of control. But we do not need such teaching, our connection is more align to an…instinct. As I believe others have told me it is like.” At her explanation he felt disappointed, and she noticed this and continued, “I could still try to teach you, if you’d like. But I’m afraid my teachings for mage-wings would only involving throwing you over the edge of the mountain and hope you’d learn to cast it before you reach the bottom.”

He laughed at her suggestion and said, “Sorry, but I won’t be able to do that. Rayla already promised me she wouldn’t throw herself over any more ledges, and I’ve promised that twice now.” Besides their scare at the top of the Storm Spire he had previously tried to do just as the Dragon Queen suggested. A few days ago while he practiced Rayla jokingly suggested that he needed to throw himself off the mountain again to cast mage-wings. He took what she said to heart, as he saw no other reason why it wouldn’t work. Then without a word he threw himself off a ledge while saying the incantation. Unfortunately it didn’t work and he was about halfway down his fall when he realized it. Thankfully he only threw himself off a small ledge and suffered minor injuries and bruises. Rayla was mortified after she saw him throw himself off and called out to him as she ran to where he landed. When she reached him and made sure he was okay she berated him for doing what she only suggested as a joke and for breaking their promise to each other. He gave his explanation, and she accepted it as she was just thankful he was okay. They hugged and kissed after the fact, and she had him promise again not to try something that could get himself hurt. He did, and he made a mental tally when he realized it was the second time he did tried to learn magic in a way he could get hurt, the first time was with Zym in the storm. But after he heard the Dragon Queen say her teachings would include that his interest in that method was renewed. He asked her why she would throw him over the mountain and she said with a shrug,

“It’s merely what I would have done to my son, had you not brought him to me before he could fly.” He was mortified at the idea of her throwing her son over the mountain. He knew birds did similar things to their young to teach them to fly but he would’ve thought dragons had better means of child rearing. He asked her what would have happened if Zym couldn’t fly, and she said dreadfully, “Then that would have been the end of it.” And she wrapped her son closer to her.

He was greatly concerned by her answer and perplexed that she would’ve risked the life of her son after everyone strived to reunite them. He said, “That’s it? After everything that happened you would have chucked him away and maybe kill him?”

“What I would’ve done is let nature take its course.” She said plainly, “And if he was not able to fly I would have mourned him as I already have. Even more so as I would’ve felt I failed him as a mother.” He saw a deep sadness enter her eyes as she said this, but she shunned it and continued, “But neither of those things are true. My son is here alive, already able to fly, and is all my life shall be for now.”

“But that’s a normal thing? Dragons just throw their kids off a cliff and hope they fly without evening trying to save them if they can’t?”

“Yes, but don’t think we do it heedlessly. I’ve known of a few mothers who have even refused to do so out of fear of losing their children. But that is foolish and not very common. If a child is not strong enough to fly we can’t expect them to be strong when they are older.” He began to ask if it’s important that they’re strong, but she interrupted him and continued earnestly, “Oh yes, very important. Strength is everything. It’s the only reason why I have my title, and how I will protect my son and I from other dragons who would kill us if we were not.”

“Other dragons want to kill you and Zym!?” He said mortified. He was beyond bewildered at how other dragons could even dream of harming the royal family, if only out of his own upbringing and how he was always told to view royals as untouchable.

She replied matter-of-factly, “Yes. Why else do you think we need the Dragon Guard if we nest in elven lands where we are revered? Many dragons revere us too because of our strength but there are those who would harm us if they believed they could obtain our title.”

Callum was still in disbelief and said to her, “But there can’t be that many who would want to harm you. They left you alone the whole time you were asleep.”

She said, “I was still honored as I slept because they feared my wrath upon my awakening. But others were waiting for my eventual death to claim the throne for themselves, and I know of one at least who wanted me as a mate.” Callum asked who that was and she said, “It was a Sky Dragon by the name of Nicomedes. He came here shortly after I learned of my family’s death and demanded I mate with him and declare him the Dragon King, but I refused and nearly killed him before I threw him off my mountain.”

He absentmindedly said, “I take it this ‘Nico’ guy isn’t very likable then? Would anyone even accept him as king?”

She paused and thought on his question and said, “He certainly would not be likeable for you. I believe he holds humans in very low regards. But he is strong. Not stronger than me, but he would be accepted as Dragon King if I accepted him, and I would still remain his superior if we did.” She paused again to think, as if she was considering his offer a second time, but she dismissed it with a shake of her head and said, “But even if he is strong, I would not have him. I refuse to soil the memory of my former mate with his seed, and I believe he would have been a very unpleasant mate to begin with. And what is worse is that I could not guarantee the safety of my son while he is here.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t make sure Zym would be safe? Not to push you or anything, and certainly not to someone you don’t like and who doesn’t like humans. But if he was your husband – or mate I guess – that would make him Zym’s father wouldn’t it?”

She replied sternly, “No. It wouldn’t. More than likely he would try to convince me to mate and have another child with him, or force me to if he felt he could. And even if I did he would certainly try to kill Azymondias as a sign of dominance.”

Callum expelled air through his mouth in revulsion and felt like a dragon spewing fire. The Dragon Queen either felt the dragon within him or noticed his displeasure and asked what troubled him and he said, “I’m sorry, but that’s just… it’s disgusting!” He all but yelled out his anger, “It’s just…I don’t know…” He paused and thought about what exactly he wanted to put into words. He was mostly disgusted by how Nicomedes would want to kill Zym, seeing how in Callum’s eyes that would’ve made him Zym’s step-father. And since the only father Callum really knew was his step-father that made him very upset. He was also upset by all the parts of dragon culture that seemed odd to him. He eventually said, “It’s just a lot of what you’re talking about for dragons makes it sound like they don’t really care about anything besides strength, and I just can’t accept that or see how it’s good at all. Their whole thing is, ‘Might Makes Right’ but I can’t see how that’s going to bring us where we want to be in the future.”

“‘Might Makes Right…’” She said the saying to herself and mused on it before she said, “That is not a term I have heard the elves use. What does it mean?”

Callum was surprised that she had never heard the term before, or that it was not one the elves used. He explained, “It means so long as you’re stronger than anyone else you can do whatever you want, and that you’re in the right for being strong.”

The Dragon Queen did not respond immediately but nodded her head up and down at his explanation. She replied agreeingly, “Yes, but that is true.” At the Dragon Queen’s remark he became very distraught, and he told her that it wasn’t true at all. She replied cheerfully, “But it is. Our forces defeated the Dark Mage’s and we did it because we are stronger than he is.”

He denied, “But that doesn’t make us right.”

“It doesn’t?” She asked confused, and Callum already felt any further conversation with her on the subject would be a lost cause, yet she continued, “If the dark mage was victorious then what he commanded would have been right because he held power. But he lost and now what we say and do is right because we have power.”

He became frustrated and said, “No, I’m not talking about being able to do things! I am talking about moral correctness. I could find a small animal somewhere and zap it with my spells but just because I could doesn’t mean I should or that I have the right to do it.”

She replied sure of herself, “Yes, but I would say that our strength is a sign of our moral justification. For the forces of good and truth are very powerful indeed, and have always defeated the forces of evil.”

He agreed with her about the forces of good being stronger than evil, but he was hesitant to admit that they always won. He thought of the murder of his father, and the expulsion of humans to the other half of the world, and wondered how those actions could be called good, and not simply actions taken by a stronger force against a weaker. He did not share all of this with her as he already guessed what her response would be. He thought of another example to give her and said numbly, “Was the murder of your husband right?”

She did not respond immediately and sighed deeply before she said, “No. It was not.”

He did not responded immediately either and they looked at each other in silence for a moment until Callum said, “Yeah so, that’s my point. My father, in a way, was stronger than King Thunder. And because of that he was able to kill him, even though for all that I know now, he really shouldn’t have. And that’s just like…I don’t know.” He lowered his head dejectedly and continued, “I just worry that you can be strong, but so sure of yourself (like Viren was) and do things you think are right but really aren’t. And I’m just worried that me, or other people, could think they’re doing the right thing but just make things worse, and…I’m kind of worried I could be doing that.” As he ended he starred at his hands and went deep into thought. He was referring to whether he was doing the right thing by being together with Rayla. He mentioned that it felt right to him, and that she agreed with him as well, but he still felt doubt that it could work out, or that it could even be the right thing to do if all of the world seemed to be against them.

The Dragon Queen guessed what was bothering him the most and sighed tiredly before she said, “I understand your point and your concern, and I’m sure I guess correctly what is really bothering you. But to answer your main point: even if the forces of evil are always defeated they can still do harm. But their damages, no matter how great, can always be mended. At least in part. The Dark Mage has been defeated, and part of the wound the world has endured will be healed. And I’ll tell you today here for you and your mate, so long as you strive to do what is right I am sure you always will. You both have already done so for my son.” After she finished she brought her face to her son and nuzzled him sweetly in a purr. Callum watched her do this and believed she was right and felt comforted by this, but another thought reentered his mind as he watched her care for Zym so tenderly. It was a subject that bothered him greatly while he lived under her domain. As to whether or not she was the one who ordered the assassins on his father and brother. Before his personal interaction with her, he previously thought he would have been angry to find out she was the one who ordered them. Then he would only have seen King Thunder in her, and would’ve held very little hope for a future between elves, dragons, and humans in the immediate future. As he could only imagine a heartless ruler would order the killing of a child. Yet now that he knew her more closely as a kind, gentle ruler and loving mother he felt he would’ve be more saddened to learn such a thing. Regardless it was something he desired to know, so he asked her with some hesitation,

“Did someone else send the assassins after my father and brother, or did you send them yourself?”

She paused at the suddenness of his question and at its subject, then she removed herself from her son and turned to him. She looked at him in the eye and spoke with subdued sadness, “Yes, I was the one who sent them.” And it was all she said.

To say he felt angry by her response would have been too much of an understatement. He was enraged and struggled to restrain himself. He felt betrayed at how someone who seemed so kind and understanding to him could order someone to kill his brother, even if she did not know him herself then. He was beyond perplexed by how she could order Ezran’s assassination after she knew what it meant to lose a loved one. He did not say anything for a moment as he processed her response. He struggled more to contain himself and then said with contempt, “Why did you bother to send them if all you wanted to do after the fact was lie down and die?” It was the same thought that entered his head when he first entered her chamber tonight, and he felt he deserved an answer, considering what he lost from her order.

The Dragon Queen was once again offput by his questions and looked away from him to the side, and that only made him more angry. He wondered how she could have done such a thing if she could not produce an answer as to why, but he misinterpreted her silence for a lack of foresight, as she only wanted to find the best way to put her thoughts and feelings into words. After a moment she began to say reserved, “When I first learned that Avizandum had died, and believed Azymondias had as well, I was filled with more rage than I had ever known before. I did not return to the nest until days after his murder, and by then I believe the murderer, your father, was long gone.” She was stern as she spoke of his father, which Callum did not like. Even if what she said was partially true he knew her husband was a murderer himself, but he did not say this. She continued, “I arrived from the south with the wind, and at the time I was thankful for it as I believed it was carrying me quickly to my mate and child. But perhaps if the wind was not at my back I would have known of the horror that awaited me and been better prepared for it. I did not smell that my mate or egg was gone from the nest because of it until I was within sight of my home. I could not smell or see anything was wrong, but I felt a horrible weight within me that something had happened. There was a grim silence over the Spire as I approached it, but a sickening curiosity overtook me as I saw what I thought was a large stone to the west.” She paused and swallowed her breathe before she continued, and Callum felt the tension heighten to its peak. “I knew what it was when I first saw it, but I couldn’t believe it until I was face to face with my mate for the last time… For a second I thought – or really hoped – that it was a statue of him outside our home built in honor. But when I saw the cursed spear in his chest, and felt the foul magic that emanated from it, and the pained look on his face I realized what happened and… how painful it must have been when he died and I… can’t remember. The time between when I saw him and ascended the Spire to our nest is gone from my memory. I only remember the horror, and I cannot go down to that field and witness him, or else I feel I too would turn to stone.” There was another paused as she breathed deeply in and out, and Callum felt it shake the chamber as if it was breathing with her. She continued, “The next thing I remember, I was outside our nest looking in. So many elves were present mourning and waiting, but my egg was gone…In that exact moment before anyone spoke to me I knew, or thought I knew, what happened to my family… I was distraught with more sorrow and pain than I had ever known before and felt like it had washed over me like the deepest chill from a winter wind atop this mountain. And then… it subsided…” Her mood changed as she spoke. She curled her front paw into a fist and she spoke as if a great fire was building within her. She spoke infuriated, “I was furious, disgusted by how they killed them! I wanted to kill the murderers myself! And not just the murders, but those that followed him as well! I wanted to destroy their homes! Lay waste to their livestock! Raise the very lands they lived on to the sky! I wanted them all to live in fear of me and my wrath! I wanted them to quiver at so much as a cloud overcasting the sun, because they would think it was me! And they would tremble at my presence as I squashed them like the vermin they were!” As she spoke Callum feared he had reawakened her latent wrath within her and was afraid. Her fury lessened slightly and she continued, “I would have left for vengeance on the day of my return but I was persuaded by the remaining guards to stay back out of fear that the humans possessed more dark magic they could have used against me. I only sent the assassins because I didn’t see any other way that justice could’ve been paid… Then I received the message that the murderer was killed and…that was it.” She paused, and he saw a sadness deepen into her eyes that she tried to smother. Her grief became overwhelming and she continued, “I can’t remember what I expected to feel when I knew the murderers were dead, but when the message came to me I felt nothing…Truly less than nothing. I was beside myself, justice had been paid but what good had that done to me?” Her lip quivered as she struggled to suppress tears and had an icy look as she stared straight ahead of her. She continued, “The killers could do no more harm, but their death wouldn’t bring my mate or son back from the dead. I saw no point in living, and as the days passed I grew more and more tired of it. I began to waste away until I fell into the slumber you found me in, as I hoped and waited for death.” She turned her gaze from the nothingness that consumed her and turned to Callum on the ground. “I was ready to enter the land of the dead when you found me. But by the courage and strength of you children I was returned, along with my son.” She extended her massive front paw out to him, and he recoiled slightly in fear from the size of it. It was obvious there was no ill intent but the intimidation remained. She said lovingly to him in-between the tears she shed, “I can think of no one else more deserving of my blessing than the three of you. Please, forgive me for my wrath I almost unleash on you, and for what I have done to you.”

Callum was unsure how to respond after such an emotional retelling of events, and a very earnest plea of forgiveness. Part of him was still very much afraid of the wrath she displayed a moment ago, and he was unsure exactly what she was asking forgiveness for. He didn’t know whether she was asking for forgiveness of the harsh judgment she gave him and Rayla before she decided to give them her blessing. Whether she was asking for the trouble they had endured in general from events, or if she asked forgiveness for killing his father. He thought deeply on his words and was still unsure as he spoke, “I…I forgive you.” He did not know if he truly forgave her, but he could not say the truth, as he did not know it himself. Yet he believed that even if she was sorry for ordering the death of his father he still did not forgive her. She became relieved at his response and removed herself from him as she began to relax. Then he asked her, “Are you saying you’re sorry for killing my father?”

“I am sorry for you that he is dead, as I know what it means to lose one you love. But that I had him killed; no, I am not. Even if he was a good father to you, which my son has said you believed so, for him to have killed my mate as he did was wrong. And I’m sorry but I cannot believe he was that good of a ruler or father. As I don’t understand how someone could do such a thing, unless they were very cruel, and very foolish.” He felt insulted when she said King Harrow was a bad father, but it was overshadowed when he noticed some of his own thoughts about King Thunder echo in her words about him, and he was unsure what this meant. The most he could entertain was that he was at least partially wrong about his notions of King Thunder, but that was the furthest he could go, at least for now. A silence overcame the room, as he thought more on the matter, and it was broken by the softest of yawns from Zym. The Dragon Queen and Callum came to his attention at the noise which seemed as loud as an avalanche in the chamber. She lowered herself to her son and nuzzled him into another purr and then said caringly to Callum, “Forgive me, but it’s rather late into the evening. My son and I should have retired well over an hour ago. So it’s best we do now, but is there anything else you must discuss with me?”

“N-no. Nothing at all.” He found himself lying again to her. He still wanted to speak more to her about his father, King Thunder, and hopes and plans for the future, but he knew they both had duties for tonight. He stood up and said, “Or at least nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow. Thank you again for offering your blessing to us, even if it won’t solve everything it means a lot.”

She graciously accepted his thanks and said, “You are most welcome. But please come see me again with Rayla or send her to me. You have my permission to share my decision, but I desire to speak with her.” He said that he would be sure to do that, and she replied, “Thank you. But until then, I wish you good night. Callum, Prince of Katolis.”

He said respectfully, “Good night Dragon Queen Zubeia.” And after they exchanged a bow to one another he turned to leave the chamber. As he did Zym jumped out of his mother’s embrace and ran to him in a chirp. His mother called for him but he already made it to Callum and softly knead at his legs. Callum bent down and scratched him as he said affectionately, “Hey Zym. Sorry we didn’t get a chance to play, I was busy with your mom. But we’re not going anywhere anytime soon. We’ll play tomorrow when I come back with Rayla.” Zym chirped disappointedly at his response but accepted it and answered his mother’s call to turn in for bed. She shared a small look of thanks to Callum after Zym returned to her, and told him to take no mind of the doors as they would close themselves after he left. He said that he would and turned to leave again, he looked behind himself one more time as he did and felt that the walk up the stairs was longer than he remembered it. He thought the light of the chamber dimmed as he left, but he was unsure. He exited and only a moment after he left he heard the doors close behind him in dull clang that echoed in the mountain hall. Even though he was told they would close on their own he was still surprised and impressed to experience this type of magic, and wondered from what arcanum it was related to. He stared at the doors for a moment both to admire them and out of longing. He sighed and went on his way, Rayla still waited for him.

He made his way through the halls to the stairs outside that lead to summit, and felt the cool air of the mountain blow through him, and he huddled his arms close about him to stay warm. He had looked forward to spending the evening with Rayla a top the mountain for the full moon. If only because he was pleased to share her experience with her as she connected to the Moon. If he was in higher spirits he would have tried to meditate on the arcanum of the Stars and Moon and perhaps connect to them as well as she did naturally, but he was still distraught. He felt better at the words of encouragement from the Dragon Queen when he first heard them, but after he left her chamber he returned to a feeling of melancholy and disappointment. Many things still occupied his mind as he climbed and watched the path ahead, and he could not shake a feeling of trepidation about their life together in the future. He hoped that perhaps the Dragon Queen was only too cautiously reserved with the influence her word possessed. Yet as he thought on the matter he felt very childish to believe that a blessing from anyone, no matter how important, could change and fix everything. He felt all of the worries he’s had over the past few days overwhelm him again. Where could they live together without one of them or both being hated? What future could they have together as things return to normal? What would their life look like? Could he count on them being happy together despite any hardships? Would it be better for the two of them to simply end their relationship early, and ease themselves of any pain it would cause the other? The last thought pained him the most but he partially felt it would be the right thing to do as he only wanted Rayla to be happy, and hated to see her in pain. A harsh wind blew threw him as he thought this, and with it was blown away any other desires he had besides to cross his arms over himself for warmth. In a way the wind cleansed him of his worries, if only for a moment, and after it subsided he looked to the heavens.

He could not see the full Moon as it was behind the mountain as he marched up it, but its light allowed him to see the path clearly before him. He was quietly thankful for that, which he had only now just appreciated, and tried to focus on the world around him, rather than his worries within. As he walked and hugged himself he peered up at the night sky and marveled at its majesty. The night sky seemed clearer to him there than it had anywhere else in the world, and he was certain Rayla was right when she said she’d be able to feel a connection she had never experienced before. He saw a fallen star in the sky, and watched it burn into brilliance and fade away. Had he blinked he would’ve missed it, and he paused for a second on the steps after he saw it. A strange feeling overcame him as he stood on the mountain in the cool night air, and he was not sure if it was relief, or a deep reverence. An epiphany came to him as he pondered on the briefness and brilliance of life and he felt resolve resurge within him yet again. He would be with Rayla, so long as she was willing to endure and live with him, he would too.

He no longer hugged himself in the cold as a new warmth had entered him, and when he made it to the summit he was dumbfounded by what he saw. When he walked up the final steps to the summit he saw the Moon peak out over the horizon. It shined with the radiance like that of the sun, but it possessed a gentleness that permitted the night Sky and Stars to be. It was brilliantly white, larger than he had ever seen it before, and radiated with a power that almost disorientated him. Yet the Moon was not what stole his breath away. Silhouetted against the Moon, Rayla sat on a stone and mediated, she looked more powerful and fearsome than she was the night of his father’s death. She faced the Moon as she sat and Callum could only see her back, yet she was dark, and bold, and powerful, and beautiful to him, and he was overwhelmed by her image as she seemed to be as one with the moon. Then her oneness with it subsided and she turned away from it as the Moon became merely a halo around her head. She looked off and away to the west dispirited with longing, and he knew whatever she thought of consumed her entirely. He looked off to the west himself and wondered what occupied her mind, he thought it could have been her home or even the human lands, but he was unsure. He hadn’t moved a step when he arrived at the summit but he was unfrozen when he saw her worry. He moved towards her and she turned around at the same instant he began to. When she saw him her mood changed, she called his name out in surprise and stood up from her rock to run over to him. Without prompt they both extended their arms out and enveloped each other in their embrace. It only last a moment but Callum felt the coolness of the air melt around them as they shared their warmth. He would’ve had the moment last forever and held onto her tighter unconsciously out of desire. She did not notice anything and she said pleased to see him, “I was just about to go look for you! What took you so long?”

She pulled away from him after she spoke, and when she did she noticed he had a sad look on his face that was hidden under a smile. She concernedly asked him what was wrong, then he took her hand and said after a brief pause, “We officially have the Dragon Queen’s blessing.” She was surprised by what he said and started to speak but he interrupted her and continued, “Both for ourselves, and for us to be together.”

After he was done talking neither of them spoke for a moment, as she still process what she heard from him. Then all of a sudden she practically jumped onto him as she exclaimed, “That’s wonderful!” She grabbed him tightly and Callum felt the air leave his lungs for a moment as she lifted him slightly off the ground and spined him around. After she finished she loosened her grip on him and beamed as she asked, “What happened, what did you do? Tell me!”

He felt a pit deepen in his stomach when he saw how happy she looked and couldn’t keep himself from looking and feeling squeamish. He stumbled with his words as he tried to explain to her, and leave out how the Dragon Queen believed her blessing wouldn’t help them too much. She noticed this and grew a concerned look on her face and again asked him what’s wrong. He sighed said disappointedly as he tried to be easy with her, “Were you…Do you think her blessing is going to help us that much?”

At his question she grew a strained look on her face and bit her lip before she only drawled out the word, “Well…” At her behavior Callum felt even worse, and that he was the only idiot on the Storm Spire to think the Dragon Queen’s blessing would have solved anything. She noticed his despondent look and attempted to be cheery, “But that’s not the point. I mean, the fact that you even got it, and for both of us, it’s amazing. But that’s not what we’re here for.” She held his hand and turned to the full Moon and where she was sitting a moment ago. She tugged him along as she said, “Come sit over here with me and you can tell me everything.” She sat him down on the rock she was on earlier and sat next to him. Then once they were both comfortable she said eagerly, “So tell me, what happened?” He went over the entire conversation he had with the Dragon Queen, including her initial reservations, the case he made for them, her decision, and even the finer details of their conversation about elves, dragons, humans, and his father. When he was done explaining everything to her she was actually at a loss for words and looked off at the Moon to ponder on everything she heard. She replied in between his story with her own questions and comments but she had been silent for most of it as she listened intently.

Since she didn’t have questions Callum asked her, “You’re not surprised then? Or you knew her blessing wouldn’t do as much as I wanted it to?”

She paused for a second before she said, “I knew most of it. Honestly I’d hope it’d help us out like you thought it would too if I didn’t know better. And I think it’ll do more than what she said it would, by a little bit anyway.”

“Like how you said it’ll keep some of the nasty people away.” He said hopefully.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how much it would do for people like goldy-boy. He doesn’t come off to me as someone who cares what the Dragon Queen thinks.”

“Does anyone?” He found himself getting annoyed at the state of affairs again, “What she said made me think it won’t even make people keep their opinions to themselves.”

She reassured him, “Oh no, they will, and plenty of people do care. A blessing from the Dragon Queen is something I’ve always wanted since I was little and my parents told me how valuable it is. It’ll definitely help us out while we’re here.” He asked what would happen once they left and she drawled out as she said, “Well… it’ll be hard for anyone to tell that we have it outside of here. And a blessing from a Dragon Queen can mean different things in different times. I think hers will mean a lot to some people but maybe not much for a lot of people. At least it’s not going to mean much for a human…Maybe.” He grew another disappointed look at her words, and she was quick to add, “But I actually think I know of a few towns we could go to that would be okay with you once they know you have her blessing. They probably won’t be okay if we hold hands or go out as a couple or anything, but you’d be able to walk around town without worrying about anything once they know.”

“Oh that’s great…I guess…” He said sarcastically but it was only a crude attempt to mask his disappointed, and Rayla knew it.

She was hard pressed to improve his mood, she reached out but retracted her hand before she touched him. Then she thought to herself and remembered something she couldn’t find a good way to bring up to him until now. “You know what we need?” She said enticingly as she waited for Callum to responded. He replied downcast that he did not and she continued, “We need a vacation.” He repeated the word back to her in light surprise and she continued, “Exactly, a vacation. Carrying Zym around from one end of Xadia to the other and fighting all the way has been exhausting. What we need is some alone time for just the two of us.” She leaned onto him as she ended.

“Where did you have in mind?” He said as his interest piqued up.

“Well, I don’t have any one place in mind. I was actually thinking we’d go out and see everything.”

He found too much irony at the idea of travelling more and said teasingly, “Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of a vacation if all we’re going to do is more walking?”

She was undeterred and said, “No, but don’t you see it’s perfect. We’re already used to roughing it in the wilderness, and that was running against time to prevent an all-out war! Except now we’ll be able to go see and do whatever wherever we want. You’ll be able to learn more about the primal sources, and I’ll get to show you how we live on this side of the fence.”

He thought about what she proposed for a moment, and admitted that he wanted to spend more time in Xadia. He knew there would be no better place for an aspiring mage to teach themselves, but he wasn’t sure how much of his life he wanted to give up in doing so. He said regretfully, “That sounds really nice. But what about Ezran, Soren, my aunt and everyone else back home? I want to learn magic but I’m not ready to say goodbye yet.”

“You won’t have too.” She reassured him quickly, “Not forever anyway. Just a little while so we can learn a bit about humans and elves together.”

“How are you going to learn more about humans while we’re in Xadia? I mean you’ll have me but it’s not like I’m every human in the world.” He ended bashful.

“We won’t, or at least not unless you want to teach me. But I’d think I’d get a better lesson once we head back to the human lands. No offense.”

“We’ll go to the human lands too?” He said surprised at how far her ‘vacation’ would take them.

“Yeah, after we’re done here in Xadia, but there’s just so much I want to show you. I never got out too much from the Silvergrove but those times I did with my uncle or parents are some of my favorite memories. And you’ll have to take me everywhere there is to go when we visit the human lands on our way back home.”

He was surprised to hear her say their home would be back in the human lands and asked eagerly, “And home, meaning Katolis? You want to come live with me and Ezran in the castle?”

She paused at his question, and quizzically asked, “Yeah…that’s not a problem is it?”

“Oh, no! Not at all.” He reassured her quickly. Then he tried to word his response carefully, “I’m just surprised you… You want that as your home?”

She became a slightly downcast at his question and said, “Well, yeah… Of course if you’re there I’d want it to be, but it’s not like…I really have much of a home now.”

He grabbed onto her hand firmly and said, “You always will with me.”

She looked up at him and smiled warmly as her spirits lifted. She thanked him as she leaned onto his shoulder. He said, “Don’t mention it. And not to put down your vacation idea but you don’t see a problem with sneaking a human all over Xadia?”

She made a small laugh and said, “No more than sneaking an elf in the human lands.” She punched him lightly and said, “You’re going to have to clean up your elf disguise if we run into anybody. It’s nowhere near the level as my human one.”

He mocked a snobbish accent and said bombastically, “Of course miss Rayla _Hugh-Man_! Please tell me more about how much you like money, war, and bread!”

She bowed and returned the tone as she said, “Oh, only after you tell me more about all your wonderful tree friends Mr. Trees-To-Meet-You!”

“Hey, that’s not my elf name.” He said playfully.

“It’s not much better, like anyone’s going to believe you’re an Earth-Blood wearing half a forest.” She teased.

“Like how anyone will believe you with four fingers and two pokes in your hood?”

“Hey! All I need to do is wear a glove with some sticks inside and say the points are my jewelry and no one will bat an eye.” She said and playfully pushed him over and he returned the favor as they play fought. When they were done they hugged each other’s side and laughed as they look out over the vista.

They were quiet for a moment as they stared off into the night sky until Callum asked, “So, where’s our first stop going to be?”

She looked off to the west before she spoke and said, “I was thinking we’d head back to Artemia first.”

“Arty-what-now?” He said confused, “Where’s that?”

She began to talk and was surprised he didn’t know where that was, “It’s… didn’t I already tell you? It’s the name of the Moon-Shadow lands.”

“It is?” He replied surprised, “What is it named after?”

Rayla beamed at his question. It was one of the few pieces of history that she always loved to hear more about from Ethari. She began to explain, “It’s the name of our founder. She was one of the first Moon-Shadow elves, and an amazing warrior. You can actually see her in one of the constellations if you look close.” She said and excitedly pointed up at her constellation. Callum asked where she was and Rayla pointed first to her belt of three jewels and told him to note the outline of her extending her arm with a bow ready to fire.

He was delighted and surprised by the coincidence and said, “Huh, so it is. We call that one Orion. He’s a good warrior too, but I think he’s more remembered as a hunter.”

“Really?” She said fascinated by the fact that humans had different names for the constellations, “I wonder if there’s any kind of relation?” She pointed to another one and said, “What’s that one over there for you? We call that one the sickle.”

“That’s the big dipper for us.”

“What’s a dipper?” She asked honestly, and Callum let out a laugh at her question. They spent their night together a top the mountain as they exchanged constellations, and while most of them did not share names, or even shapes between the two of them, Callum found their exchange made each other that much closer. Rayla provided him with all the knowledge about the myths and legends the elves had to offer and he provided the human’s in turn, but elves captured most of the discussion that night. While he paid as close attention to her stories as he could, she herself captivated most of his attention. By the end of the night he didn’t think he had any deeper understanding of the arcanum of the Moon or the Stars, but such an experience he would not have traded for any other knowledge. When they had gone through as many constellations as they could have in the night they shared a moment of repose before they went to bed and admired the Moon together in quiet admiration. As he admired it Callum thought such a concept was appropriate to describe the Moon arcanum in part. Silent and ominous, but a revealer of or deceiver of truth.

* * *

Rayla admired the depiction of the Moon on a book binding she held in her hands. It was made of leather with a deep-blue dye that was faded around its edges, and revealed the old brown leather beneath it. The title of the book was written in silver letters that were almost worn beyond recognition and read in elvish script, ‘Understanding the Mysteries of the Moon’ and beneath it was an artistic depiction of the Moon with the arcanum’s symbol for it superimposed over it. It was the same book she mentioned to Callum earlier and she flipped through a few of its pages absentmindedly as she waited for Aubrey to come back from his study. His study was the next room over, and he asked her to wait in the library as he prepared the medicine they would take to the village. At an immediate glance the room she was in looked very cozy and pleasant, but it was riddled with age, and smelled more musty than the rest of his home, with an odor of old paper and dust permeating within it. The room was on the second floor of his home and served as a reading room with numerous bookshelves lined across the walls and a few smaller ones that went no higher than her waist in the middle of the room. Towards the back was a plain, large, round window that took up a third of the wall with a small bench in an alcove below it to sit at. She was in that room earlier to clean it and even after she was done it was still dirty beyond belief. She had dusted the shelves numerous times but there always seemed to be more dust whenever she moved another book. The shelves were made of rough, old wood and could have used a coat of varnish; or twelve as she thought. The furniture was dirty from lack of use and the window had dust stained into the glass. She was amazed at the neglect the room faced and asked Aubrey why it was unused. He stated that he used the room, but only for storage of his book collection, and when he needed a specific volume he would go in, retrieve it, and return it after he was done. Since he kept all of the books he required for work or pleasure within his main study he rarely if ever used the room, but he desired her to clean it if only to give her a job for which she could repay their debt. Rayla was only able to scratch the surface of the filth within the room earlier, and since Aubrey had her stop her cleaning after he noticed how she struggled she anticipated she would have to return to the room to finish cleaning it as another job. This suited her just fine, since even if it was toilsome work, it was mostly easy, and it gave her a good chance to find something for herself and Callum to enjoy.

She flipped through the pages of the book and only took note of a few passages in it, most which she felt went way over her head from first impression. She was certain Callum would drool all over it once they were able to read it together, but she still had not asked Aubrey if they could borrow it. As she scanned the pages she wondered why Aubrey was still a bachelor. He was educated, handsome, and seemed nice enough that she thought someone would’ve expressed interest in him. She accepted that even if others were interested in him he must’ve not shared their feelings, but she thought what was possible, and very funny to her, was that his messy way of living scared off any would-be suitors. As she chuckled at the idea to herself she was interrupted by Aubrey’s voice at the door. He only cleared his throat to get her attention but it was sudden so she snapped her head up to look at him. He was dressed in similar fashion from last night and had a bag slung over his shoulders. When she looked up at him he said, “Something funny in the book you’re reading?”

She put the book back onto its place on the shelf quickly, but somewhat nervously because of the nature of her thoughts and said, “What? Oh no. Something else unrelated. But it’s not important. Are we ready?” He replied that he was and invited her out of the room with him with a gesture of his hands.

She exited with him and as they walked through the hallway he said, “We don’t have too many deliveries to make. I’ll probably give most of them to you to deliver yourself. Just be sure you take care of their payments for me. One of them tends to be a bit bad at giving me my money.”

“Would you prefer it if I did your shopping for you instead? Just so there won’t be any questions.” She suggested the idea out of security for herself. She felt more comfortable at the idea of spending money for him, rather than collecting and being responsible for his payments. Especially if one of his customers would be contemptuous.

He replied unconcerned, “I don’t have any shopping to do today actually, our deliveries are just an excuse to get out of the house. I only live a small distance from town but I find any excuse to head into it is a good one.” He cleared his throat loudly, “And as for Tobias (he’s the problematic one) just collect whatever you can from him. I trust you enough not to steal from me, I just hate dealing with him, even if I probably have too.” He ended annoyed and their talk carried them to the hallway just before the entrance. He was about to reach for the door when he patted himself and then a realization came over him. He told Rayla that he forgot something and that he would be a minute, then he excused himself as he ducked into another hallway towards his kitchen.

“Rather forgetful, aren’t we?” Rayla thought to herself as she folded her arms into a small pout. It was the second time today that Aubrey said he was ready to leave before he actually was. The first time was after she left their room just a moment ago. She met Aubrey in the hallway on her way to meet him and he said that he was just about to fetch her so they could leave, and when she asked him where their items to deliver were he looked embarrassed and realized he forgot to get them. Rayla thought he probably forgot his keys or something similar and lamented that he made her wait twice now when she could’ve been cozying up to Callum. She also thought it would be a few minutes before he could find them, given what she saw of the disarray of his home. So she went over to the side parlor they were in last night and began to look around.

She hadn’t been in the room since last night as he didn’t ask her to clean anywhere in there, but the room seemed to be in nicer condition than his library. She walked around and admired it more closely than she had the previous night. Aubrey had not removed the ashes in the fireplace from last night’s fire and she anticipated that she would be the one to clean it out. The furniture in the room was newer compared to the library, or at least more well taken care of. The chairs had intricate designs that mimic foliage to match their green color, and from what Rayla could tell they seemed to be imported out of Artemia judging by their materials, but from where exactly she was unsure. The artwork that littered the walls were of numerous subjects and designs, and ranged from small sculptures to paintings. Their subjects were mostly related to the Moon or Artemia, and a few of the Sea Elves, which didn’t surprise Rayla when she considered how close they were to them. The cabinets and side tables in the room were used to hold sweet treats and drinks when socializing, as was a custom activity for hosting guests for Moon-Shadow elves. They were made of materials local to Artemia, but their design and intricacy told her that they were brought in from outside the village, unless a master craftsman was hiding there. As she admired the room more closely she noticed something that caught her eye in a corner of the room, almost as if it was purposefully discarded there behind a side table and cabinet. When she peered around the furniture she saw it was a saber propped up against the wall. She guessed from the beautiful design of the hilt and sheath that it was ceremonial and not intended for battle. Next to it lied a note folded in half with an old string attached, which out of curiosity she bent down between the furniture to pick up. The note was old and the gold ink was faded and difficult to decipher, but it was written in beautiful penmanship and read:

_Presented to Aubrey [illegible],_

_The one most worthy of it._

_-S.L._

“Just who exactly are you Aubrey?” She whispered softly to herself. After she spoke she heard a loud knock on the front door and it startled her out of whatever thought she was contemplating. Another loud knock ricocheted throughout and then she heard Aubrey call out from somewhere in the house that he would be there in a minute. Out of her startlement she discard the note back with the saber and quickly went to exit the parlor. She looked to the front door from the archway of the room just as Aubrey began to open it. When he did he was surprise to see who made the noise, but Rayla felt horrifying dread after she saw his visitor. He was an assassin from the Silvergrove, not one she knew personally, but the armor he wore was unmistakable. All Moon-Shadow assassins had two types of armor, one they wore when they had to operate, which was designed to look inconspicuous as normal clothing but provided defense against weapons. That was the type Rayla wore normally and was upstairs in her drawer. The warrior at the door wore the second type, which was the armor generally known among the public and was worn when the Moon-Shadow assassins wanted their presence to be known. It was similar to their practical armor, but much of the dull green was replaced with silver colors or metal plating, and shone with brilliance like that of the Moon.

She ducked back into the parlor when she saw him but stuck her head out cautiously so she could see and hear what was happening. Aubrey spoke first and said quietly surprised, “Oh! Would you like to come in sir?”

The man refused with an open palm and said officially with a thick accent, “No, that won’t be necessary. Is this lord Aubrey’s home? I was told I’d find him here.”

Aubrey replied hesitantly, “Well, that would be me. But I’m no lord, I’m just a doctor for this town.” After Aubrey was done speaking the man looked past him into the house towards Rayla’s direction. She ducked into the parlor when he did, and hoped he didn’t notice.

The man asked curiously, “Is anyone else in the house with you?” Rayla felt a pit grow in her stomach at his question. She didn’t think he would recognize her but she didn’t want to take the chance. When she saw his face she felt that she’s seen him before; she didn’t know from where and thought it must have only been a passing glance they shared with each other long ago. She wasn’t sure if it was his voice, face, or markings that she recognized but she racked her head to figure out where she’d seen him. It was to no avail as she couldn’t pinpoint where she’d seen him, and it drove her crazy.

She heard Aubrey speak and it brought her out of her thoughts. He replied innocently, “Just a young traveling couple I’m letting spend a few nights with me while they rest.”

At his reply the assassin asked quickly, “Did they tell if they saw anything odd on their travels? Notice any kind of odd lights or noises in the forest?” Aubrey replied that they hadn’t to his knowledge. The man continued urgently, “And has anyone in the town gone missing over the past few days?”

Aubrey was aghast at his questions and replied concerned, “What? No. Nobody has. Why? What’s going on?”

The man was silent for a moment and Rayla strained to listen from the parlor. She heard him reply gravely, “Over the past few weeks I’ve been hunting humans here in Artemia. And I think I’ve finally caught up to them.” She nearly passed out from dread when she heard the man say those words, and her entire head was racked with worry on what Callum and her would do. She completely missed the next few words spoken between the assassin and Aubrey but came back to attention when she heard Aubrey say,

“But you’re sure there are humans here? You said you haven’t even seen them in person.”

The assassin replied confidently, “Oh yes, very sure. What I’ve seen along their trail are all the tell-tale signs of a dark mage. Mutilating and harming of wild animals, obsessive collecting of useless plants, that forest fire that nearly destroyed half of the northern forest.”

“I’ve heard of that.” Aubrey replied intrigued, “A huge fire sprouted up out of nowhere and was blown out by a large gust of wind. You think it was them?”

“I don’t have evidence to confirm it was them, but from what dark mages are capable of I wouldn’t put it past them.” Rayla squinted painfully at the reminder of the forest fire they started. She was just thankful Callum managed to blow out the fire with his magic before it hurt anyone. She assumed the ‘obsessive collecting’ was referring to Callum’s collection of materials for his disguise. She didn’t think the wild animals they defended themselves from should have been called ‘mutilated’ when they were done with them. The one they killed was struck by lightning from Callum, and she harvested its meat for food, but after a brief thought she understood why the assassin would have suspected it was the work of a human dark mage.

Aubrey said in a mixture of concern and gratitude, “Well on behalf of everyone here, thank you for everything you’ve done to keep Xadia safe. And thank you for making sure our village is safe in the middle of your hunt.”

The assassin practically cut him off when he finished and said sternly, “That’s another thing. You’ll have to keep everything we’re discussing private.” Aubrey asked why, and he replied, “We think they’re hiding in or around the village.” Rayla made a sudden suck in of breathe and bit the side of her finger out of stress when she heard him. Aubrey was also distressed at the news and asked the assassin how he came to that conclusion. He continued, “Last night we found their encampment, and their tracks lead towards your village.” Rayla heard Aubrey give a concerned moan and assumed he had more to say but the assassin cut him off again and said, “We’re certain they’re not in the village, as far as we can tell. But we’re keeping a close eye on it and the surrounding area.”

Aubrey asked urgently, “And you say ‘we.’ Just how many do you have?”

He continued firmly, “Enough to keep your village safe, I promise you. And I sent word to the Silvergrove for more assistance. They should be here by tonight.” Rayla was becoming more and more worried as the two of them spoke, and she barely had time to process everything she heard.

Aubrey seemed to be likewise but for different reasons and said, “Why are you sending for help? Just how many humans do you think are here?”

“We believe at least two, but we think there may have been infighting among them recently. When we found their camp it was completely overturn, and there must have been some sort of fight judging from the blood we found.” Aubrey asked why they had yet to find the humans if that was the case. He continued, “We’re not entirely sure. That’s why for the next few nights we’ll be continuing to caste a ‘Quaerere’ over the area.” Rayla was familiar with the spell the assassin mentioned. It was powerful when amplified by multiple mages, and could scan an area for something or someone. The spell took the form of a Lunar Raven as it searched for its target, and she had seen it casted once when she was eight years old. A criminal was hiding near the Silvergrove, but the authorities had been unable to capture them. They casted the spell to drive them out and her uncles took her out to watch it in action from a safe distance. She remembered how incredible the spell looked when it was empowered by so many mages, and the fear in the criminal’s eyes when they were discovered. Now it seemed that herself and Callum would be the ones afraid of it. She struggled to push those thoughts aside and focus on the conversation in case she could learn more information that could save them. Aubrey said he was familiar with the spell and the method for its use, but asked why they bothered to tell him their plan. The assassin said, “Because the areas we’re scanning will be limited. We hope to cover a radius of about a mile but we’ll be focusing on certain areas. We plan on searching around the village because of the camp we found but we’ll be out of sight and hopefully outside of their knowledge so that we don’t instill a panic about a human running rampant.” Aubrey asked whether they would be searching his land and the assassin said, “Not thoroughly, no. We’ll be scanning the immediate area but your home will be largely untouched as it’s not one of our hotspots.”

Aubrey said, “That’s fine, I would know if there was a human in my home.” The assassin agreed with him with a small grunt then Aubrey asked, “How long will you be searching if you don’t find anything? And what are you going to do with the humans since it’s peace time?”

The assassin said very stern, “We’ll be searching for as long as it takes to find them or evidence that they’ve eluded us, which is unlikely. And what we do with them should be no concern for you. But for you’re peace of mind understand that by intruding our land they’ve violated the peace terms negotiated at the Storm Spire. Be that as it may, we believe the best course of action is simply to dispose of them and deny they were ever here. For your part, simply stay low and out of our way, and we’ll be gone before you even realize it.”

Aubrey was somewhat taken aback by the tone in which the man spoke and said with reserved respect, “I understand. Is there anything else I should know or do?”

The assassin began to grow annoyed and said, “Just make up some excuse for your villagers to stay out of the forest while we’re here. And keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious! I’ve never heard of a dark mage disguising themselves as an elf to hide but I wouldn’t put it past them.” Aubrey said simply that he understood but asked how a human even managed to find their way into Artemia, as the nearest breach is many miles away and closely guarded. Through his ramblings he came to the idea that perhaps an elf had assisted the human to enter Xadia and asked if he had considered it. When he finished the assassin was quiet for a moment and then replied simply and very stern, “Please keep your theories to yourself. I assure you my company and I have a handle on things. And when we find _whoever_ is trespassing on our land we shall deliver them to justice. Any further questions?” Aubrey replied that he did not and then they bided each other good day.

By the end of their conversation Rayla’s head was swimming with anxiety. This morning her only worry was keeping Aubrey away from Callum in case he noticed anything, but now she’s found out they have an entire party hunting them. She was amazed that they’ve been hunted for almost their entire time in Artemia, and she practically hit herself over the head for not noticing anything. What was worse is that they found their camp, so all they had were their clothes on their backs and what little they brought with them to the village. She also remembered that Callum left his sketchbook at their camp, so they knew _exactly_ who they were looking for and what they looked like, and she prayed that the assassin didn’t get a good look at her face. Worse still was that she knew by the way the assassin spoke was that they were out for blood, and she nearly screamed when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Aubrey only placed his hand gently on her and said her name as softly as he could, but Rayla was too preoccupied to notice him until she felt his hand. She jumped away in startlement and caught her breathe for a second as Aubrey said, “Sorry. I was just telling you it’s time to go. Are you ready? And…are you alright?”

All the blood was drained from her face, and she still took a moment to collect her breathe from her anxiety as she said breathlessly, “Yeah, I’m fine.” Aubrey asked if she was sure, and said she looked paler than a ghost. She replied adamantly, “Yes, I’m fine!” Aubrey paused for a second after to study her but when she didn’t say anything else he said, “We should hurry up and make our delivery before it gets too late. Come along.”

As he turned to leave the parlor Rayla felt her heart and mind race into a fury. She wasn’t at all prepared to enter the village if Silvergrove assassins were nearby. She thought she could have faced terrible consequences if any of them recognize her, and she wasn’t ready to lose her hand or worse. She tried to drum up an excuse quickly so she could stay and speak with Callum. Yet all she said was a nervous, “You go ahead. I’m not coming.”

Aubrey halted in his steps suddenly when he heard her. He slowly turned around and said irritated, “This morning you said you’d come with me. Any reason for the change of heart all of a sudden?” Rayla was surprised by his tone but couldn’t say anything immediately as she struggled to formulate a response. Aubrey studied her for a second and noticed her anxiety. He must’ve realized she heard the conversation because he softened and asked, “How much of the conversation did you hear?”

She only writhed her hands together and avoided his eyes as she said, “All of it, mostly.”

“And you’re worried about the human?” She nodded in agreement and tried to mask the true reason for her anxiety. He continued reassuringly, “Don’t be. We have the protection of the Silvergrove. And I’ve never heard of those warriors fail to keep their word. If they say we’ll be safe in the village, we will be.”

“Yeah, they will but what about me? – I mean –” She tried to wing her response but she stumbled with her words from her nervousness, “I mean you live a good distance from the village. And I’m not a fighter – like at all! – And didn’t they say they can’t cover everything? So what are we going to do if we run into the human on the road?” She felt it wasn’t the best excuse, if only because she worried it would encourage Aubrey to stay back as well. Which she didn’t have time for if she was going to speak with Callum.

Aubrey let out an annoyed sigh at her excuse and brought his hand to his face. He spoke like he was addressing a child, “You’re worrying about nothing. I’d doubt a human would try to attack us in broad daylight, and I’m sure the warriors would be keeping a close eye on the roads.”

She drew out her response, “Yes… But I…I don’t think… I can’t put myself at risk. I’m sorry.” She ended with her head hung low. It was the best excuse she could come up with and she had no idea how she was going to weasel out of going.

Aubrey groaned and said, “Rayla, you’re being unreasonable-”

She interrupted him and said, “I know! I’m scared, and cowardly, and running away!” She felt that she was self-deprecating as she rattled off her excuses, and worried she let out too much of her own life as she spoke. She looked up and noticed he gave her all of his attention so she continued, “I-I know I’m scared, and maybe I’m scared for no reason! But even if I am I can’t pull myself outside. You should go out and deliver your medicine to your patients, because you should. But I am staying right here!” When she finished Aubrey rubbed his face and seemed to be considering something. She took advantage of this and added quickly, “I’ll do whatever work you want me too while you’re gone! I still haven’t finished cleaning your library! I’ll go find a duster and clean every inch of it, or clean the fireplace, chop wood, wash the dishes, clean your sheets, anything!” She may have worried she sounded too desperate as she prattled off chores but right now she just wanted him to leave and let her stay behind. Aubrey made a small wince as he thought over her plea and finally gave in and said she could stay. She was incredibly relieved and started to thank him, but he interrupted her and said to go find a duster and old rags in a closet by the kitchen. He wanted her to finish cleaning the library and said he would only be out for a short time. She agreed and reminded him to make up an excuse for the villagers to stay out of the forest for a little while. He hesitantly agreed with her and said he would lock the door when he left, and to make sure she started the work. She agreed and eagerly watched him exit the door. When he went out and locked it from outside she peered out a small window by the door and watched him slowly make his way through the grounds as he turned back once to look at his home. When he was out of sight for a few minutes she let out a sigh of relief and then quickly ran upstairs to their room.

* * *

Callum laid on his chest and drew in the relaxing quiet of their room. His drawing was going less successful than he hoped for due to his materials and his injury. He stopped drawing and studied what work he had completed. He still felt that he failed to capture the ‘severance’ of the Dragon Queen, but he thought that may have been the perfectionist speaking within him. His drawing was the Dragon Queen standing above an outcropping on the mountainside, peering down with a face of pride and deep reflection. He hadn’t gone further than an outline for most of the drawing, and noted a few imperfections in it. He attributed part of them to the dullness of the charcoal he used and wondered if Rayla left her knife somewhere in the room, so he could sharpen it. After he thought that he felt a sharp pain in his finger and grabbed it in his right hand as he let out small moan, before he heard a loud knock at the door. He quickly looked around to where he left his horns and frantically began to put them back on. Another loud knock sounded at the door and he was about to ask for a just a minute for whoever it was when he heard Rayla say worriedly, “Callum, are you in there?” He stopped what he was doing when he heard her, stood up, and said that he was. Without another word she barged into the room and pushed past him towards the back of the room as she said, “Did you see anyone?”

He asked confused, “See any what?” She ignored him and grabbed the window ledge as she hopped up and frantically looked outside in either direction. He was bemused by her actions and asked what was going on.

She Jumped down from the window and looked at him. She ran her hands through her hair and fixed it repeatedly before she said, “We need to leave. Right now!” Without missing a beat he grabbed his cloak off of his bed and wrapped it around himself as he asked again what was happening. She said, “We’ve been found out!”

“Found out? By who?” He said, growing worried himself.

She clarified and said frantically, “A group of hunters. I don’t know how I could’ve missed them, but now they’re here looking for us.”

She was still a mess as she finished and Callum reached out to her and tried to say calmly, “Slow down, and tell me what’s going on.”

She collected herself for a second and continued a bit less stressed, “Just a second ago, someone from the Silvergrove came here and told Aubrey they’re hunting humans. And last night they found our camp and our tracks leading to village. And now they’re bringing more of them here to help find us.” His eyes went wide and he asked if she was sure they meant their camp she replied, “Who else could it be!? They said it’s a mess, that your blood was everywhere, and they know everything we’ve been doing the past weeks!”

“Everything?” He said disbelieving.

“Everything! They know about you collecting stuff for your disguise, about those animals we defended ourselves from, and that forest fire we almost started.

At her explanation his eyes went wide. He grabbed her hand in his and said, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here!” He turned to leave the room but she held onto his hand firmly and would not move or let go. He looked to her and she looked downcast as she said,

“I don’t really know if we can run.”

“But you just said-?” He started to say but she interrupted him and said angry,

“I know what I said! But I wasn’t thinking…” She continued growing softer and sad, “They’re casting a spell called a ‘Quaerere.’ It’s this searching spell that looks like a Lunar Raven, and it sounds like they’re already casting it and they’ll probably find us if we try to run.”

He paused and thought about their predicament and said hopefully, “What if we go and meet them? We’ll turn ourselves in, do the talking together and explain who we are and what we’re doing here. Once they know who we are they’ll have to let us go, at least back to the human lands, won’t they?”

She shook her head as he talked and said stern, “Callum I’m banished! I shouldn’t even be here!” He let out a surprised “What?” but it was all he said before she continued, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and I should’ve, but it’s too late now. These people aren’t going to stop and talk, they’re out for blood and if they see us they’ll shoot first and ask questions never.”

He wasn’t upset that she hadn’t told him something, and didn’t bother to ask her to clarify what she meant. He was much more concerned to see her so afraid for themselves. He said gently, “What are they looking for?”

She said distraught, “They said they’re looking for a few human dark mages. But that’s not going to help us.”

“It’ll help you.” Was all he said, but it was enough for Rayla to know what he was suggesting. She yelled his name in protest but he continued, “If we had to, you could tell Aubrey I went back to camp and since they’re only looking for a human they’ll leave once they got me.”

“That’s not going to work.” She shook her disapprovingly and he asked boastfully why it wouldn’t. She responded angry, “Because they have your fucking sketchbook Callum!”

At her response he made a face of extreme agitation and it was that was needed to convey he got the point. Yet like her, he was still hell bent to sacrifice himself for her if he had to. So he said, “It’ll still work, just hide here until you’re sure they’re gone.”

“We are not going to do that!” She said passionately.

“What are we going to do then?” He returned her passion to her but she didn’t say anything for a moment. Eventually all she could do was turn away from him heartbroken and say,

“I don’t know.” And she sat down on the bed defeated.

He joined her on the bed and asked, “Are they coming back here to search the house?”

“No, they said they wouldn’t search it too thoroughly or the village. Just around it.”

“What if we just stayed here until they leave then?”

“We can’t keep up the lie to Aubrey for that long! I wasn’t even sure if staying too many night was good idea to begin with, and we don’t even know how long the assassins will stay here.”

He leaned in close to her and took her hand in both of his, “Then what if I try to paint my wings back on and fly us out of here?” He had a confident look on his face, but Rayla only looked at him dubiously. She remembered he told her that the way Dragon Queen would have taught him would have risked his life. And their lives definitely were at risk now, but why would it work now when it hadn’t before? And did they have time for him to jump around the yard with his arms painted before he sprouted wings? He saw the worry on her face and continued, “Or even if I can’t, what if we just run? Just run and don’t look back. And if we have to fight, we fight, but keep running at the first chance we get.”

She thought about it for a moment and said, “If we try to run on foot we’re not going to get very far before they find us. They said they’re controlling a whole mile, and they’ll probably just pick us off from a distance before we even get a chance to fight back. If you could fly us out of here that could help, but I’ve seen an assassin shot a small bird a mile high out of the air.”

His eyes went wide at the idea of being shot down by an arrow as they flew through the air. He brought her hand close to him and asked, “Then what do you want to do? You know our chances better than I do, but whatever we do we decide together.”

She was quiet and looked away from him as she thought about their options, as unpleasant as all of them seemed. Eventually she said reluctantly, “I think, as bad an option as it seems, we have to stay here and try to keep up the lie to Aubrey until things quiet down. I don’t know if we can but we’ll stay alive longer here than we would if we just ran out and got shot in the forest.” Callum didn’t say anything but he nodded slowly after she finished and they exchanged a look into each other’s for a moment of silence. After it passed they leaned in and wrapped their arms around the other into a tight hug and massaged the other in their worry. If this was to be their end, they would face it together. The only thing they could do now was wait and see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is posted, and boy what a long one. For those of you who follow me for Zim stuff you’ll have to wait a bit longer. For those that wait for chapter three of this, you’ll wait longer still. I’ll disappear to work on personal projects again, message me privately or in comments and I’ll respond when I feel it is necessary. Thank you for reading and peace.


End file.
